Well, it's the end of an era. After what feels like an eternity, the Toms of Juniper Douglas are finally going to sleep. What a way to go out - with a video for the first single from Error to Introspection , the group's 2018 record. The chapter is closed, the book has been shut. It's unclear if the video's air of finality was intentional. All the Toms are gathered together for a rescue operation and a final (squirt gun) battle. Countless visual motifs are thrown at the viewer, from the languorous shots of bike riding to the absurdist sense of comedy that seem to be found at the heart of every Juniper Douglas video. As per always, the "fibastimpastastan" video is directed by Robindeep Singh . His continuous collaboration with Juniper Douglas has yielded some of the strangest yet visually striking videos in the entire Twin Cities community. Watch the final Tom-era video below, and make sure to offer up a wish of "sleep well, gentle Toms" befo...

One of my favorite things about Juniper Douglas is that they've never made the same song twice, even across their relatively short recorded discography. A lot of bands double dip their musical chip into the songwriting ranch and come away with two stellar songs, but JD are restless in their pursuit of each insane idea. One gets a sense of this just by listening to the group's album, Error to Introspection  (happy first birthday!). Tracks bleed into each other before immediately heading off into the opposite direction. It's a total mind-melt of a record. There's an even greater thematic disparity in the band's live show (which we've had the privilege of seeing three times thus far). When one considers that the first show was some sort of collective, anarchic, experimental theatre piece and the second is a two-person concept show about AI and what it means to be born (kind of?) with heavy electronic elements, it seems almost impossible that they're produc...

Hey! We're putting on a show! Woah! Along with two other extremely sick Twin Cities institutions ( Drop In Media  and Subaquatic Records ), we're co-sponsoring a show this week, featuring Vial , Partition , Juniper Douglas  (workshopping their new show), and Creative Drugs (their first show - they're so fresh, we don't even know anything about them). It's also unofficially celebrating Ear Coffee's second birthday (party time)! It's this Thursday, 8/22 at Rowhouse. Message us on any of our social media for the address, or check the Facebook event below. We hope to see you there.

Twin Cities weirdos Juniper Douglas are back with a new(ish) song and video. For their latest single, they reworked "B. George Kieth Beekneeth," from 2018 debut Error to Introspection , into "B. George." It is condensed from roughly eight minutes into a four minute snapshot. The elements that made the original such an experimental delight—a propulsive drumbeat, pitch perfect yet scattershot notes of trumpet, synth lines that reverberate through your entire body—are kept entirely intact. The accompanying video, directed by Robindeep Singh, keeps up the loose story approach found in last month's "Gah, My Eyes!" video (also by Singh). Four of the five Toms struggle to survive without water, engage in violent conflict with cans of La Croix (garbage drink!), and find peace in a lake.

Juniper Douglas is back from tour! Hooray! They shot a video for their song "Gah, My Eyes!," from their 2018 debut Error to Introspection . Sick! It's an extremely weird yet extremely fitting visualization for the song. The band definitely kidnaps a guy with banana weapons and has a weird cult-ish celebration in the woods (there's blue fire!). They also burn the remnant of a past age - a fax machine. The 00s-era Radiohead vibes of the song are matched with a 90s-era Radiohead-esque video, and it's a match made in indie heaven. The video is released to coincide with Juniper Douglas' upcoming show on June 30th. Along with Why Not, the Toms are going to help celebrate the release of the Clean Tramps' brand new EP. Check out more information on the show below.

Photo taken by Sara Collins. Tours can be hell, but they're the destiny of most bands. They can also be exhilarating. It's a wholly unique experience to hop from city to city, playing a show almost every night, travelling in a cramped yet homey van - or, in the case of Minneapolis' Juniper Douglas, a bus. After releasing their debut album last fall, Juniper Douglas planned a relatively massive national tour. They made their way through the South, and are now journeying along the East Coast. The group faced an unique challenge: translating their wide-ranging, robustly experimental, and just plain insane record Error to Introspection  into a live format that would a) be consistently performable, b) be enjoyable for audiences, and c) maintain the artistic integrity of the work.  I was curious about this process, and what it was like to plan such a sudden and extensive tour, so I reached out to the band and their label, Subaquatic Records , via email. Th...

Miyha - "Sommers / Summer" Heavy Meadow Records has been on a hot streak lately. Smelkin Ernesto with Cambios , Sass' recently announced Chew Toy , and now Miyha. The Madison, WI quartet operate on the more light-hearted side of indie with their new song "Sommers/Summer." The track is the first taste of their forthcoming debut, World's Biggest Crush . "Sommers/Summer" kicks off with a rigid pounding, leading listeners to expect a heavier tune. Miyha fakes us out by instead settling into a shambling indie rock groove. What ensues is a pointed kiss-off. The song is full of tired disdain and the delightful feeling of knowing that you're right. Each line brings a new reason to ignore the song's entitled, avoidant subject. The lyrics convert complicated emotions into short, effective mantras and lingering, relatable questions. Subverting expectations is the name of the game. The quartet's instrumental work does well in its job o...

Psychedelic and experimental music is notorious for being deliberately difficult. Artists gladly make things as dense as possible, often solely for the sake of doing so. Taking the precedent and smashing it to pieces is the ultimate artistic pursuit, or so some might say. Juniper Douglas , a musical collective based out of Minneapolis, certainly fall into this category. They manage to walk the tightrope of bizarre and tasteful throughout the 63 minutes of their debut album, Error to Introspection . With sloppy precision, sounds are splattered on an ethereal canvas of invitation. Each song on the record acts as a coat of multi-colored fluorescent paint. There is a techno-like study in layering on Error – each corner can be peeled back to reveal something new, confounding, and often wonderful. The record kicks off with “Promiseland Bakery.” Lowkey drum machines and acoustic guitars invite the listener to cross the threshold and immediately the overwhelming scents pos...