Minneapolis stoner rock quartet Denim Matriarch is back with a spooky new music video just in time for Halloween. Hailing from their 2019 EP Critters , the new video "Snake in the Grass" digs into the cost of seeking fame and power.  Like all good cult horror movies, the video for "Snake in the Grass" opens with vocalist and guitarist Nathan Levin paging through the Necronomicon while the band scoffs. Fast forward, the quartet finds themselves in an ominous forest where they find a mysterious box filled with a golden snake idol and other magical objects. The band accidentally summons a group of cultists, who perform a ritual that grows more and more sinister through the duration of the video. The video for "Snake in the Grass" was shot by Alex Tuthill-Preus of Alleygators and True Hallucinations . According to Levin, the band first approached Tuthill-Preus last year about the video. " Alex was definitely the mastermind behind the whole video. He sho...

Present Company  -  Talking On Couches  (self-released)   It's almost harder to make a familiar sound feel new than to explore an unfamiliar one. Either one takes boldness and a various amount of musical ability, but the former tends to get lost in the sameness. You've heard songs that sound like Present Company's debut full-length Talking On Couches . It's anthemic, synth-drive indie rock, recognizable to pretty much anyone who has engaged with independent music over the past two decades. But the core duo of Christian Nelson and Eddie Chisham have assembled 11 songs that transcend their influences and nail a particular aesthetic. The Minneapolis band eases into their sound on opener "Probably." Nearly half of the song goes by before any lyrics are sung, but as soon as the vocals crash in, it goes into melodramatic overdrive. There's a theatre-kid playfulness as Present Company commands the listener to "dance for your life" and "dance now to...

(Cover art by Christine Lambert ) These songs may never have seen the light of day. Marie Finch , which started primarily as the solo recording project of Minneapolis' Joe Villano, had no immediate plans to release the material they had been sitting on for a while (all of it was initially written in 2018). They had been recording as a trio with Jack Daily of Fox Theory , piece-by-piece, since the fall of 2019. Both Marie Finch and Fox Theory were gradually working on new EPs but ended up hitting creative walls this summer. The EPs were tabled for the time being, until Daily had the idea of a split. Rather than leave the Marie Finch songs behind, it made natural sense for the two bands to team up. Not to be selfish, but I sure am glad all these songs made it out alive. Fox Theory has been honing their emo-punk stylings into some of the catchiest and best composed stuff I've heard with that sound. Meanwhile, Marie Finch's songs operate somewhere between "classic" in...

(Cover art by Dylan Wachman) clearbody has taken a long journey to get where they are. The trio evolved out of Charlotte, NC indie rock stalwarts Dollhands , and with a new name comes a new sound. It was a natural change with the shoegaze-oriented direction in which the band was headed. In many ways, One More Day , clearbody's forthcoming debut record, is the truest representation of the band members' talents to date. Guitarist/vocalist Eric Smeal described it as "their life's work." Lead single "Blossom" is one of the newest songs written by Smeal, coming together since last March. Much of the other material can be traced as far back as 2017. Written with drummer Seth Wesner, "Blossom" came from a simple place. "I would sit out on [my] patio, watching the trees, thinking about how we're all passing through life," said Smeal. This transience is captured inside beautiful murkiness, reminiscent of the recent wave of emo-tinged shoe...

(Cover by Caroline Alkire) Pharma Bums - "These Towns" (self-released)   Pharma Bums has taken a long and unique journey to get where they are right now. A supergroup of sorts, the Minneapolis quartet consists of Nick Baker (Maria & the Coins, Fragile Canyons) taking lead on vocals and songwriting, with the talents of his twin brother Zaq on piano and keys, Karl Remus of 26 Bats! and Lucid VanGuard on bass, and drummer/engineer Christian Wheeler (of many projects). The entirety of their debut record Mood Poisoning  was recorded and quietly uploaded to Bandcamp in June 2018. Shortly after, the group disbanded due to the myriad other projects with which each member was involved. Two years later and six months into a global pandemic, Pharma Bums decided to revisit their work. Mood Poisoning  will be seeing a full, expanded re-release in the coming months, with a remixed/remastered version of the original record plus a handful of loose songs recorded in Auburn, IA just b...

Toronto's Scott Downes has been busy over the last decade. He's released several albums with the bands blue moon and iris ; now, he's stepping out with a new solo project, Thirty Cent Fare . Compared to those projects' respective jangle and haziness, "Split the Ceiling" is as bright as the noontime sun. A pop punk-flavored jolt of caffeine is flowing through the veins of this song. Downes' guitars are gleaming as they dash in and out of the percussive backdrop. A sharp and unambiguous lyrical direction pairs well with the bouncing rhythms. Some of the first lyrics — "Hi, how are you? / I miss you again" — summarize the core ideas in only a handful of words. The inevitable clinging to the past that comes in the dissolving of a relationship is a relatable haunt for most people. Downes splits the difference between that clinging and the forward momentum that comes from letting go. By the end of "Split the Ceiling" it seems that Downes has...

Artwork by Randy Timmy and Alyssa Liecht In May of this year, Cedar Falls, IA rockers Hex Girls put out their first release since their 2018 debut album More of That  with the single "Cats With No Teeth (Catch No Mice)." The quartet is currently working toward their sophomore record. Back in September, Hex Girls released a music video for the single.  "Cats With No Teeth (Catch No Mice)" showcases the Hex Girls' love for the grimier side of glam rock that was prominent in the 70s. Disco drumbeats and raucous horns offset the track's darker tone as the band turns their pop sensibilities upside down. The track's central figure feels more like Patrick Bateman strutting along to "Hip to be Square" than a faceless killer looming in the bushes somewhere off in the shadows. While you probably shouldn't kill people, Hex Girls make sure to spend the chorus affirming that sometimes you got to indulge in a little vice if it means they get what they d...

(Cover art by Ashley Wong) There aren't many bands I can think of off the top of my head that would attempt to write a multi-part fantasy-inspired concept record, and there are even fewer bands who could do it successfully. The Weak Days have pulled it off with great aplomb on their new EP The Fabric of Our Lives . The trio of Dustin Reinink (drums/vocals), RB Roe (bass/vocals), and Alex Ryan (guitar/vocals) have woven together a story that toes the line between the intensely personal and the universally relatable. Telling the tale of the Bard and the Botanist and the crumbling of their relationship, The Fabric of Our Lives  takes long-time fans of the band in a totally new direction. I chatted with all three members about the EP and they were kind enough to break down each song in detail. "No One Can Live Forever" Ear Coffee : "No One Can Live Forever" really establishes the world and the sound of the album immediately and even differentiates it from Tight  [t...

Joel Drzycimski 's music and Ear Coffee have gone hand in hand since the beginning. Some of those early cringe-worthy articles that I wrote featured Joel's old band Cureton and a few of his side projects. All of those songs ranged from parody Christmas music to quirky pop-punk jams to scathing critiques of the religious culture  we witnessed going to college. It had been a while since we heard something from the sonic chameleon, but now Joel is back with the single "Plastic." The track feels at home among the ska-punk of the late 90s and early 00s. Its bouncy guitars and walking basslines propel it through Joel's musings over the existential dilemma of growing older and the consumerism that comes with it. References to targeted marketing and various social media influencer products are thrown in a nihilistic glee as the track's chorus ends with "hail to my plastic god." "Plastic" shows Joel's songwriting chops haven't dulled in the...

After a quiet few years, the Minneapolis-by-way-of-Alaska emo act  Granddad is back with the brand new EP  What Happens Afte r, just in time for Bandcamp Friday. The release follows up Kellen Baker and Matthew Harris's tumultuous 2018 record Quitter, which chronicles the growing pains and aimlessness felt in your teens and early 20s. Instead of dwelling on the past, Granddad looks at what's coming next with this new EP.   Change is rarely quick and easy, and that is on full display on What Happens After 's opening track, "Not Twenty Anymore." Twinkly guitar riffs break up emotionally wrought lyrics about growing as a person. The opener feels like a natural response to the Quitter track "Slacker With a Death Wish." The desire to be better is still there, but now, growth is a response to being unsatisfied with what you've become. In the bridge, Baker sings about forgetting his early 20s, so he can contend with "becoming a brand new person overni...

Minneapolis' GOWNS put out a punchy, straightforward three-song EP earlier this year. Just in time for the fall, the band is dropping a new single. "Castles" is a slightly different shade of bombastic indie, placing itself more within the aughts than the most 80s-inspired moments on The Hollows . The quartet locks into a perfect pop song structure and let their strengths show. Ebbing and flowing rhythms course through the guitars — including a riff right out of a New Order song — and crescendo right into the chorus. The chorus is where "Castles" shines. Soundtracking a celebratory scene in a heart-on-sleeve coming-of-age movie seems to be where this song is destined. Singer/keyboardist John Bair doesn't oversell his vocals, but injects them with enough momentum to soar through the guitars and drums. "Castles" is a natural evolution for GOWNS, and a rewarding hint of what they might be able to accomplish one day. In the meantime, you can stream ...