(Cover art by Nina Katz) Back in late summer 2019, Minneapolis quintet Delilah Fang released their only EP, Lonely Once Too . Their song "Impostor Syndrome" caught my ear with its lovely groove and playful take on traditional dream pop sounds; I was immediately looking forward to what the band would do next. Much to my disappointment, the band dissolved shortly after the EP's release, with members moving away and pursuing other ventures. Approximately a year-and-a-half later, I have found myself back within the Delilah Fang Cinematic Universe (or DFCU for short). Guitarist and vocalist Betty Taylor relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico and in the ensuing months has launched her solo project under the Velvet Vision moniker. She released a self-titled EP in March and has quickly followed it up with an understated and wonderful new single. "Garden Apartment" rests easily on a shuffling drumbeat and chopped samples of Taylor's bright vocals. Downtempo electronic pr...

Minneapolis quartet GOWNS is back with one last single before their forthcoming debut album. The synth-rock group has steadily been building anticipation over the past 6 months with increasingly catchy songs, and "Left Behind" brings them to a new high. GOWNS has never been a band to waste your time. Their primary missions always seems to be getting a scattershot of earworm melodies stuck in your head as quickly as possible. "Left Behind" pops instantly, bridging the gap between Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" and The Killers' Hot Fuss . Bleeping keyboard lines, in-your-face vocals, and cheesy drum fills reel you in and hold you tight, until the song breaks into an extremely processed sax solo. GOWNS clearly know what works for them at this point, and it's a pleasure to hear them revel in their own composition for a bit. Listen to "Left Behind" below. Stay tuned for news about their new album.

(Artwork by Brick ) The Eau Claire punk act Gash has returned! After releasing their debut record haha in 2018 (partnering with the sorely missed Heavy Meadow Records) and releasing a split in 2019, the band took a breather between releases before returning last week with their roaring new single " Life of Dan ." Gash will be releasing their follow-up to haha on Friday, May 7, Leftern , but instead of having to wait for the full thing, Ear Coffee gets a chance to premiere the follow-up single, "My Head Hurts." For anyone who has had a migraine, you know that they are more than just a gnarly headache. It's completely debilitating, which is what vocalist and guitarist Logan Nyberg said they were trying to capture when writing this single. Throughout the entirety of "My Head Hurts," the band is on the verge of total collapse. With rickety, borderline discordant instrumentation, Gash piles forward with a scream while they look for moments of respite. Ny...

(Cover art by RiGBY) "This is cool, i just was looking for a video of mordecai and rigby xd" is one of the top comments on the YouTube page for RiGBY 's debut single "Daisy." I'm unsure if the band's name is a genius marketing tactic aimed at unassuming fans of Regular Show , but it hardly matters. The Twin Cities quartet comes roaring out the gates with a song that will draw you in, regardless of whether you're into slacker cartoons or not. "Daisy" has been a long time coming. For the past two years, the only ways to experience RiGBY's music was to catch one of their many live shows or to download their free demos off of Bandcamp. Their murder-fantasy of a lead single finally came crashing into existence earlier this month.  Drawing equally from the annals of punk history and from contemporary bands you might find on Epitaph, "Daisy" is a song best played at ear-splitting volumes. It's gloriously feral music that would i...