I did not write about a ton of music this year due to the stressors that affected all of us. Despite my burnout and a lack of drive, there was a ton of fantastic local releases put out during a year where hanging out at a gig involved the chatbox of a live stream. It was still amazing to be able to interview, write about, or just enjoy the music put out by bands here in Minnesota.
Granddad - What Happens After (Brace Cove Records)
What Happens After follows up the Minneapolis-by-way-of-Alaska emo act's turbulent 2018 record. The EP chronicles the existential dread of moving into your late 20s and figuring out what to do with yourself. Vocalist Kellen Baker spends much of the release reckoning with what it's going to take to grow as a person. I've always loved Granddad's ability to turn otherwise bleak feelings into moments of combined catharsis. We don't have it figured out, but we are in this together. The band is joined by a host of their friends to bring this release to life - Jeremy Warden (Double Grave), Sam Stahlmann and Allie Pikala (With Iowa In Between), and Roddie Gadeberg (niiice.).
Rot - ... As One (War Against Records)
Minneapolis hardcore quintet ROT had only released a two-song single before dropping their debut sucker punch of a record ...As One. This record is an exposed nerve that has been rubbed raw, and its instrumentation provides a bulwark for vocalist Arrold Walton to stand on and scream in your face. Despite being written before the summer of 2020, tracks like "Ask" feel at home as a protest chant. "Speak, Ask, Think, React" kick-off each line of the first verse and act like a modus operandi for getting involved. ... As One's thesis is to do something. Don't just sit there with your hands in your pockets, get out there and make it count.
Dirty Junk - Open Then Spit (Don't Panic Distro)
I feel it wouldn't be too out of line to say that Dirty Junk just gets meaner with every release. Where the band's previous releases felt frenzied, Dirty Junk's newest EP Open Then Spit is incredibly focused on its mission to be absolutely ornery. "Phobic" kicks on the record with a monolithic wall noise and takes you on a white-knuckle ride through the band's personal brand of sludgy hardcore punk. New with this release is screamed vocals from guitarist Renn Fontana. Screams aren't uncommon for a genre that is basically shouting, but Fontana uses her newfound voice to punctuate the end of a verse or to release an indignant burst of frustration. Whether it’s telling racists to fuck off, processing emotional exhaustion, or the degradation of society, Dirty Junk will always use their platform to make sure you know where they stand.
Optimal Crime - A Life Long Fight (Don't Panic Distro)
It's almost unfair how hard the debut release from Optimal Crime goes. The quartet's blend of angular hardcore and grind serves as a backdrop to speak from a place of rawness and complete honesty. Vocalist Alissa D.'s ragged screams punch through blast beats to grab you by the collar on moments like "Abort," calling out the fact that we are still fighting over reproductive rights in 2020. While many of the moments on A Life Long Fight are personal to the band, tracks like "Static" and "Dissociate" easily underscore the listener's own day to day struggles with passive exhaustion from depression and feeling dejected.
Ca$ual - Rare Form
Three years after the release of their record Come Around, Ca$ual is back with their biting EP Rare Form. This release is all meat and no gristle as the trio frantically riffs their way through 10 songs in a breakneck 11 minutes. I don't think I can count the times I've listened to Rare Form, screaming "Now you have a friend in the diamond business" in the parking lot before going into work.
Honorable Mentions:
- Maul - Monarchy of Mold
- Dana Sterling - Departure
- Cauldwell. - i don't know myself as well as i once thought pt. 1&2
- Another Heaven - Three Singles
- Jeremy Warden - Ghost Songs
- Split Fountain - Crosstown
- Lamp Noise - Star Planet
- Maggie Gently - Good Cry
- New Primals - Horse Girl Energy
- Warren Thomas Fenzi - Live at the Atrium
- the Florists - Hold It Together
- Pinched. - Pinched.
- Fragile Canyons - Lavender
- Vin - Granule
- Double Grave - Goodbye, Nowhere
- 26 Bats - Sweet Fang
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