(Cover art by Kate Malanaphy) An academic mindset tends to deflate all but the most technical music (i.e. some jazz, math rock). It negates the passion that fuels virtually every musician, especially when it's actually an assignment for school. The fear of a letter grade at the end of it all is an overwhelming barrier to creativity. On their latest EP, Taste , Minneapolis songwriter Kate Malanaphy shrugs off scholastic pretension and makes four songs that simultaneously fulfill the requirements of a syllabus and push their art forward in exciting, soul-stirring ways. The Bandcamp-exclusive release might strike a curious listener as a minor release. Maybe our streaming-poisoned minds tend to assume as much about anything that isn't uploaded to Spotify. Perhaps it's the fact that Taste is deliberately styled as a low-key release, serving more as an opportunity to "learn how to record and produce music by simply going for it," in Malanaphy's own words. The d...

Kate Malanaphy - "i'll never (demo)" (self-released)   It's absolutely inescapable. Just about nine months after the release of the ethereal masterpiece that was Soak , Kate Malanaphy quietly uploaded a new demo to Bandcamp. Any new music would be cause for celebration, but "i'll never" is their first truly solo song. Malanaphy played every instrument and recorded and mixed it.  The looming piano that provided the basis for a majority of Soak  has been subbed out for a lightly plucked acoustic guitar. Vocals match its evergreen peacefulness instead of bursting out like a gush of fog over a lake. In so many ways, "i'll never" is step in an exciting new direction. The main thing that has remained the same is the density of the emotion at the song's core. A constant burden is accepted instead of escaped. "I struggle to believe / I'll ever be without this heaviness" epitomizes begrudging acceptance. There may be a flicker of ...

I've always believed there is something in the water at Hamline University since so many fantastic acts have come out of that school. One of those bands, the sensual and melancholy Sal Paradise is letting us premiere their follow up to 2019's Table for Two  the single, "Voice Memos." There are a lot of thoughts and feelings left unsaid and circling the mind following a breakup. "Voice Memos" feels like talking to that ghost of a former relationship, like a final voicemail checking on the person who is in as much pain as you are. Co-written by band leader Samuel Ketcham and Kate Malanaphy , "Voice Memos" is the band's departure from their previous "jazzy by not jazz" songs. Ketcham told Ear Coffee, "' Voice Memos' sounded like such a song-song (front to back, clear form, etc.) and that’s kinda where we’re leaning now. Rock baby.  We got to work with some really talented friends like Kate Malanaphy who I brought the s...

Following in the vein of Joe's introduction from his list, I embraced the fact that I'm totally still an idiot emo kid at heart. Emo and punk were a part of my formative musical experiences (we don't need to talk about the rest), but I was relatively late to the game with virtually anything other than MCR, Panic, and Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle." As time as gone by, I've allowed myself to be enveloped in the raucous emotions that call the genre home. There won't be a ton of local emo on this list, but that mostly seems to be because a lot of the emo bands I love took the year off. That may totally predict my 2020 year-end list, but in lieu of emo, I found a whole lot of other stuff to fall in love with, from piano ballads to country(!) to whatever the Happy Children are were. Albums and EPs (Cover art by Caleb Hinz probably??) The Happy Children - Same Dif  (self-released) This is unsurprisingly my album of the year. Earlier this yea...

Hey, look! Is it a new column? Not quite! Doing things that are completely original is exceedingly overrated. Sometimes, more than one video comes out in a week. Sometimes, we want to write about some of them. Lo and behold, we're the Current   City Pages  trying a Local Video Round-up.  Kate Malanaphy - "Glue" video Kate just released her latest EP  (it's real good!) and now her first video is out, for Soak 's lead single "Glue." The video was done by Lilacs Media , the duo of Charlie Berg (director) and Garrett Wells (DP). It's a very heavy affair, curtains giving each background shadow plenty of room to run. About halfway in, pale blue becomes a menacing yellow as shadows loom over Malanaphy. The song gradually intensifies with the palette shift. It's a fitting video for the melancholy of the song, shot beautifully. Good videos elevate the art of the song they accompany, and "Glue" does just that. Goodnight Gorillas...

Kate Malanaphy's voice is the sonorous core at the heart of her songs. "Glue," her brand new single, is the latest evidence of this. As per most of her solo work prior to this, the instrumentation consists primarily of full-bodied piano and meandering vocals. However, "Glue" subtly shifts all expectation on its head. Skittering electronic drumbeats and minimal vocal processing seep into the pensive watercolor portrait being painted by the lyrics. Much of this comes from the production of Caleb Hinz (Baby Boys/Normal Parents/The Happy Children). His generous contributions fill in all the cracks of Malanaphy's anachronistic alto. Hinz has proven himself to be a versatile contributor, serving the purposes of each collaborator with whom he works. This is a clear step in Malanaphy's evolution. It proves her willingness to experiment while still knowing and adhering to her well-defined strengths. The same sonic blood is pumping through "Glue"...

Keep for Cheap have established themselves as a fixture of the Twin Cities indie kid circuit over the past several months, playing shows with Ear Coffee favorites like the Clean Tramps, Alexander Natalie, and Miloe. Finally, they're releasing their debut single, "Day Without You." The quintet utilizes each member's assets smoothly and confidently.  Layered vocals act as a gentle wave that carries the listener into a cloud. There is an organ that shimmers in and out of focus. The sandy ocean floor is made out of rollicking (Ear Coffee's word of the day for describing guitar parts) electric guitar. It is a relentlessly pleasant song, even as the sentiment burns with longing. I'm tempted to classify Keep for Cheap as a supergroup, even with only one song to their name. Sal Paradise 's Robert Northrup, the Contingents ' Ted Tiedemann, Kate Malanaphy  on vocals and guitar. The group is rounded out with the exceptional Autumn Vagle on guitar and lead ...

Wes hasn't slept in at least nine decades, but his restless commitment to sharing dope tunes has overcome the odds. Praise be unto coffee. Kate Malanaphy - In and Under  EP Kate Malanaphy sounds eternal. Her vibrant and wondrous vocals draw a map that each song reluctantly follows. Opener "Up to Here" is a minimal, spacious, and haunting ballad. The shimmering cymbals give counterpoint to Malanaphy's fluid and ruinous performance. "Glass" continues the EP with another sonic lake of aching harmony and piano arpeggios. The first half of "Neighbor" feels like a continuation of the previous track. Percussionist Alex Norman breaks up the second half with thudding bass drum, anchoring the wandering vocals. "Liar" closes the release with a gasp of tenderness. A simple backdrop of drums allow Malanaphy to paint a canvas of wasting sunlight. In and Under by Kate Malanaphy Oklahoma - "Disco" Indie rock ba...