We've been waiting a long while for new music from Abe Anderson, Cannon Falls' resident producer extraordinaire. Not because he hasn't been busy — he's released two albums with two different bands in the last three months alone, on top of recording work and launching a YouTube channel . But it's been far longer since he's released any solo music. From his 2019 debut EP Slacker  onward, there's been a handful of varied yet uniformly excellent singles; however, nothing too definitive. The wait is over with "Love You More," the first single from his forthcoming debut record. It's Anderson's shortest song to date, but it revels in its brevity. Written at the start of lockdown as a tribute to his partner, "Love You More" glows warmly with gracious dedication. Hints of new wave peak in between spidery guitar lines. It's a far cry from the grungy pop-punk Anderson was putting out just over a year ago, but the songwriting has held tru...

(Cover by Téa McLawhorn) VIAL  are a special band. That much is apparent to literally anyone that has listened to their infectious debut album " Grow Up " or who made it to a show before everyone was stuck inside. Their combination of gloriously in-your-face politics and stellar songwriting has made it abundantly apparent clear that their rising star can is only destined to go higher. And higher it has gone. For a momentous new holiday, the band has re-recorded the punkest song in their current discography, "DIY," to reflect how it has been played live. Bassist Kate Kanfield takes center stage with a vitriolic vocal performance that completely takes the piss out of the posers and jerks that inevitably seem to fill every DIY space. The track was an obvious highlight from the album, but it comes to life even more in the context of a single. VIAL combines genuine punk ferocity with always-relevant criticism of a scene that to this day  still favors groups of w...

Marmalade - "Hollow Head" (self-released) Ah, the elusive Bandcamp-exclusive release. An increasingly rare yet undying breed, usually reserved for niche reissues and mysterious European metal records. Or 2018's split between Marmalade and Climi. Technically, "Hollow Head" came out then as the second of Marmalade's two contributions to the split. But now it's on ~streaming services~ so why not give it some extra love?  To use Roddie's choice phrase, the track is "tone city." Resplendent chords mesmerize the listener, helping them circle the drain of their own mind. It mirrors the questioning lyric, "I don't know / where it all goes." While your head is left reeling and emptied, you may lose track of where you're headed. Marmalade's gorgeous songwriting will be your lighthouse, bursting through the haze and leading you home. It's unclear why Marmalade picked now to put "Hollow Head" up on streami...

(Cover art by Elaine Mozey) Back for week two! VIAL is keeping up the hype with a second video before Grow Up  blows all your minds on Nov. 29. The band's second single, the album's title track, is a cry for arrested development. You know what's more relatable than wanting to be a kid again? Pretty much nothing! With lyrics by guitarist/vocalist KT Branscom, "Grow Up" lists off the miseries of adulthood (hating how you look, hating your job, bills, the innumerable pains of capitalism). But they find catharsis by just...kinda freaking out a little. After about two minutes of relatively straightforward indie rock, the song shifts to something almost doom-y. The tempo turns to molasses and slows the band to a fudgy near-halt. Katie Fischer's drums thud with just a bit of extra oomph. All four VIAL boys repeat the chorus ad infinitum  - it's half a chant, wholly catharsis. Buy the song on Bandcamp, or stream it on your platform of choice. Grow Up by...

(Album art by Alexis Politz ) It's not quite Thanksgiving yet, but we have been given good reason to be thankful. Indie punk quartet VIAL have blessed us with their debut single and  video. "Rough," off their forthcoming album Grow Up , sets the scene for another fantastic entry in the hallowed halls of stressed-out punk anthems. Regrets and rapidly accumulating angst pile up faster than you can say "get to the gig." The lyrics are shameless in their catharsis. VIAL offset the restlessness by setting their diaristic poetry to a catchy and jaunty punk banger. Buy it on Bandcamp below or stream it on the platform of your choice.  Rough by VIAL The video, directed by Emily Nordstrom  and shot by Sophi Dudley, lightly parodies Scream  and is very good. There's some good ol' kidnapping and murder. Revive the spirit(s) of Halloween and get spooked. But not too spooked - VIAL has another video out next week! Wow! Grow Up  will be re...

I can say with absolute certainty that this is the first song about creepy-older-woman-lust that Ear Coffee has ever covered. I don't know if it will be the last - who knows what the future holds? NATL PARK SRVC are back for their second EP of the year, and man, they're really going for it. Lead single "All the Moves" (mixed/mastered by Abe Anderson) sounds like its falling apart. The guitars don't quite match up, vocals scratch just out of tune. What's even more surprising than the song's topic is how it works together. It's a statement against self-seriousness, which has been the band's MO thus far. There's always a gleam in frontman Dylan Woytcke's eyes as he sings his strange songs of lonely, desperate middle-aged women. About two-thirds of the way in, the gleeful dissonance vanishes and the band quiets down. In both video and song, the band lets themselves go as they dive into a final eternal refrain. They're on some post-r...

There is an anxiety that comes with putting out music under your own name. People will immediately associate it with you, for better or worse. I would argue something against that, though. The courage it takes to overcome that anxiety is a much greater force than any potential negative response. "Somersault" is the first single from Abe Anderson's forthcoming EP, Slacker . Over the course of the last two years, Anderson (best known as the bassist in niiice.) has been tinkering with these songs. At long last, they are about to be put into the world, and we are so excited to premiere "Somersault." The song starts heavily enough with a thudding riff not dissimilar to the stoner punk favored by niiice. Anderson's voice comes in somewhat reluctantly, admitting that he "don't ever want to feel this way." Before he even begins to explain why, there is an understanding of the lyrics' personal nature. Whether it's Anderson himself talking...