Hit the Skids - "Cloud 9" (self-released)
Richfield? Underrated!
Hit the Skids adhere to the classic belief that there is no need for a fourth chord. The Richfield trio keeps it straightforward and potent on their first single of 2020, "Cloud 9." This no-frills throwback punk at its finest — the most common lyric is the word "yeah!" after all. There's never been a need to adorn songs like this with any bells and whistles. Instead, Alex Fuller, Jake Yaeger, and Vic Fischer let the music speak for itself.
The single includes a live version of the song recorded at the Depot Coffee House in Hopkins, featuring Matthew Mwangi on drums. Check out both version below.
Hit the Skids adhere to the classic belief that there is no need for a fourth chord. The Richfield trio keeps it straightforward and potent on their first single of 2020, "Cloud 9." This no-frills throwback punk at its finest — the most common lyric is the word "yeah!" after all. There's never been a need to adorn songs like this with any bells and whistles. Instead, Alex Fuller, Jake Yaeger, and Vic Fischer let the music speak for itself.
The single includes a live version of the song recorded at the Depot Coffee House in Hopkins, featuring Matthew Mwangi on drums. Check out both version below.
Sister Species - "Cottonwood Trees" (self-released)
I love it when a band release totally opposite singles, back to back. Chamber pop septet Sister Species have pivoted from the catchy anxiety of "Heat Death" to a swirling, mesmerizing form of drone-influenced songwriting. "Cottonwood Trees" consists almost entirely of Emily Kastrul singing of a regretful parting over an aurora of improvised horns, accordion, and strings. The group seems to have made a deliberate attempt to evoke the sonic equivalent of the song's subject matter — the gradual dissolving of a memory into a pool of something familiar yet distant. Between their two January singles, Sister Species have displayed the breadth of their forthcoming album Still I Am Still.
The band also collaborated with filmmaker Sam Fathallah and dancer Michelle Marie to make a video for "Cottonwood Trees." Watch it here.
The band also collaborated with filmmaker Sam Fathallah and dancer Michelle Marie to make a video for "Cottonwood Trees." Watch it here.
Hearse Driver - Avery EP (self-released)
Hearse Driver is the new project of multi-instrumentalist Gabriel Moll. On his debut EP, Avery, released on Christmas Day 2019, Moll weaves tiny stories with considerable themes, like an over-large, extra-warm sweater. Family inspires much of the three original songs on the EP, whether it's an ode to his daughter ("Baby") or the troubled, infinite desire to protect the ones you love ("Calamity"). The latter particularly is a lyric-rich dive into the anxieties of family life. Overcoming sickness, worldwide chaos, and heartrending loss all come and go as Moll continues. The song is hardly uplifting, but the line that stuck with me most was "I may be a loner but I am not alone / We may live in houses but family is our home." Moll closes the EP off with a rendition of Satie's Gnossienne No. 1.
The Northfield-based songwriter bares his heart on Avery. He is supported by John Potts (bass) and Lee Jeffrey (guitar/vocals). The trio have since added a drummer (Nate LeBrun) to their lineup and will be recording a full-length sometime this year — stay tuned.
The Northfield-based songwriter bares his heart on Avery. He is supported by John Potts (bass) and Lee Jeffrey (guitar/vocals). The trio have since added a drummer (Nate LeBrun) to their lineup and will be recording a full-length sometime this year — stay tuned.
PRGRPHS - Little Invisible Yesterdays (self-released)
For better or worse, post-rock is one of the trope-iest genres in music. Bands fall into ruts and make the same album over and over again. It can be calming, just knowing what you're going to get. But innovation and familiarity don't have to be mutually exclusive things.
Enter PRGRPHS, a duo based out of Minneapolis. Their latest release, the two-track Little Invisible Yesterdays EP, finds a way to divide expectations and conquer. I've never really heard of a post rock EP (given the tendency towards exceptionally long tracks); PRGRPHS utilize their relatively limited time with two nearly-ten-minute compositions.
I am constantly surprised that all the noise here is made by only two people (I mean, yeah, multi-tracking, but still). Chris Polley is the painter in PRGRPHS's equation. With his guitar and synths, he provides swaths of color, scraping across the canvas and lingering behind with a gentle, lively hum. Dan Vogel covers pretty much every other aspect of the duo's sound. His robust drumming is the lifeblood of Little Invisible Yesterdays, the creator of the canvas. Minimal trumpet lines and auxiliary percussion bits dabble in the corners.
All of that being said, my favorite part of the EP doesn't come until the final 90 seconds of the second song, "Between Birth and Beginning" (alliteration, woo!). An unadorned acoustic line evokes a sepia-tone past we have never known, but perhaps will always remember. Atmospheric synths cascade around and bells echo. I'm a little frustrated that they saved such a beautiful excerpt for the very end, yet I can't ignore the fact that it rounds off the EP's end perfectly. It is exemplary of the variety PRGRPHS put into their songs, especially on Little Invisible Yesterdays.
The EP was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Ali Jaafar at Ecstattic Studios. Jaafar also played bass on "A Faint Echo in Winter."
The duo will be performing on Radio K's Off the Record series next month and playing with other instrumental acts at Palmer's Bar in March.
Enter PRGRPHS, a duo based out of Minneapolis. Their latest release, the two-track Little Invisible Yesterdays EP, finds a way to divide expectations and conquer. I've never really heard of a post rock EP (given the tendency towards exceptionally long tracks); PRGRPHS utilize their relatively limited time with two nearly-ten-minute compositions.
I am constantly surprised that all the noise here is made by only two people (I mean, yeah, multi-tracking, but still). Chris Polley is the painter in PRGRPHS's equation. With his guitar and synths, he provides swaths of color, scraping across the canvas and lingering behind with a gentle, lively hum. Dan Vogel covers pretty much every other aspect of the duo's sound. His robust drumming is the lifeblood of Little Invisible Yesterdays, the creator of the canvas. Minimal trumpet lines and auxiliary percussion bits dabble in the corners.
All of that being said, my favorite part of the EP doesn't come until the final 90 seconds of the second song, "Between Birth and Beginning" (alliteration, woo!). An unadorned acoustic line evokes a sepia-tone past we have never known, but perhaps will always remember. Atmospheric synths cascade around and bells echo. I'm a little frustrated that they saved such a beautiful excerpt for the very end, yet I can't ignore the fact that it rounds off the EP's end perfectly. It is exemplary of the variety PRGRPHS put into their songs, especially on Little Invisible Yesterdays.
The EP was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Ali Jaafar at Ecstattic Studios. Jaafar also played bass on "A Faint Echo in Winter."
The duo will be performing on Radio K's Off the Record series next month and playing with other instrumental acts at Palmer's Bar in March.
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