(Cover art by the band) Kitchen Knife Blood Pact have been on quite a hot streak. After releasing six EPs in the spring, the label brainchild of Alien Book Club  settled into a steady schedule. The rip-roaring debut from Sockhop Massacre followed in June; now, we're finally hearing from Shush . The Minneapolis quartet has existed for nearly a year, providing occasional updates on new music but otherwise staying mostly quiet. At the end of July, word of a debut album and a forthcoming single finally hit the internet — "Staring Contests" would be released one week later. With familiar elements, Shush creates an incredibly potent form of indie rock. They effortlessly crescendo from chiming verses to ragged choruses, showing a careful consideration of the song's structure. "Staring Contests" is an unpretentious and beautiful gem; it establishes a framework for how Shush approaches their songwriting. Second single "School Nurse," which we're stoke...

(Cover art by Lydia Williams) Keep for Cheap are entering a new era. They've finished recording their debut album and are leaving the prairie behind. They have left us with one last gift — their new single "Losing." Intended as a spiritual sequel/B-side to last fall's excellent "Forgive Me," it finds the band indulging in themselves and their influences to create their most expansive song yet. My eyes lit up when I saw that "Losing" has a near-six-minute runtime. On paper alone, I am extremely on board. It's essentially two songs in one: a strong core idea augmented by a fractured and grandiose outro. Keep for Cheap's ability to sew the two together and confidently deliver on such an ambitious structure is a testament to their grow as songwriters since 2019's Get Along . Leisurely wandering from the start, "Losing" matches the gentle vocals of Kate Malanaphy and Autumn Vagle with a frayed 70's riff and a straw-in-the-mout...

Before the pandemic, a majority of bands could rely on shows as their primary (if not only) means of self-promo. Maybe they had some Bandcamp demos to send to the people running different house venues. Maybe not. As long as they could rip a gig every week or so, it didn't necessarily matter if they had an EP or album out. Despite their lack of recorded material,  Sockhop Massacre  held a sterling reputation as a go-to injection of noise for any bill, whether it was a prime weekend spot at Rowhouse (RIP) or a Tuesday at the Kitty Cat Klub. Almost a year-and-a-half later (and just in time for shows to start coming back), the Minneapolis quartet is making their triumphant re-entry with their new song "The Revolutionary." If we temporarily disregard their May 2020 single " Enhanced Interrogation Technique ," then "The Revolutionary" is their first officially released single. The group is working with Ear Coffee favorites Kitchen Knife Blood Pact to final...

(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.

(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...

  (Cover design by Anita Velveeta) Anita Bauer has her eyes set on the future. No matter what, her songcraft unfolds to depict what the next few years might sound like. With her main project Alien Book Club , the band shifts around as a unit, but it is often bound to Bauer's determined exploration of the nooks and crannies of rock's history (doo-wop, no wave, jazz, punk). Under her pseudonym Anita Velveeta , she pushes the boundaries of electronic pop. Previous single " Jet Set Radio Futureless " went all in on flamenco-indebted trip hop; now, her latest track "Face Pix," premiering exclusively here on Ear Coffee, takes off for Rainbow Road hyperpop.  "Face Pix" fluctuates in tempo, timbre, and tone. Bauer is spinning a musical roulette faster than a pink-haired Tasmanian devil. At times, I can't help but hear what Newgrounds electronica circa 2007 would sound like if Laura Les got her hands on it. The winkingly retro cover art certainly adds t...

  (Cover art by Kate Malanaphy) An academic mindset tends to deflate all but the most technical music (i.e. some jazz, math rock). It negates the passion that fuels virtually every musician, especially when it's actually an assignment for school. The fear of a letter grade at the end of it all is an overwhelming barrier to creativity. On their latest EP, Taste , Minneapolis songwriter Kate Malanaphy shrugs off scholastic pretension and makes four songs that simultaneously fulfill the requirements of a syllabus and push their art forward in exciting, soul-stirring ways. The Bandcamp-exclusive release might strike a curious listener as a minor release. Maybe our streaming-poisoned minds tend to assume as much about anything that isn't uploaded to Spotify. Perhaps it's the fact that Taste is deliberately styled as a low-key release, serving more as an opportunity to "learn how to record and produce music by simply going for it," in Malanaphy's own words. The d...

    (Photo by Lisa Persson ) It hasn't been too long since we've heard from Lucid VanGuard , the project of Minneapolis' Karl Remus. Last fall, he put out Golden Eye Empyrean , an EP of sepia-drenched pop songs; on new single "Snow White," melancholy rules over every note. While Lucid VanGuard has primarily been a solo project, "Snow White" hones in on sparse sounds and loneliness. Acoustic plucks and windswept lap steel welcome you into the song's world. Overwhelming emptiness draws new focus to Remus' pleading vocals, augmented only by harmonies from Bailey Cogan of 26 BATS! There is inescapable beauty in the somberness. "Snow White" ebbs and flows with Remus' instrumentation, never overwhelming the simple sentiments at its core. Listen to and/or buy "Snow White" below. Snow White by Lucid VanGuard

Long-running Twin Cities pop punk band the 99ers has nothing to prove at this point. They've existed in some capacity for over 10 years. Yet they've consistently released new music (an album if not at least a single every few years) throughout that entire period. They're continuing on strong with latest single "Kissing Johnny Ramone." Upon first listen, I was overwhelmed by how well the quartet captures the snot-nosed 70s sound embodied by the titular Ramone. There aren't any frills, but that's because "Kissing Johnny Ramone" doesn't need any. It's satisfying to hear something so straightforward and sweet every once and a while. The mix sounds like it was ripped directly from the soundboard in some dinky dive bar; the lived-in buzz adds a gritty layer of authenticity. Bands like the 99ers prove something in their constancy: the most important reason to play music is because you love doing it. There is joy to be found in making music in a...

  (Cover art by Noah Topliff) It's been about a year since we've heard from Dad Bod in a full-band capacity. The waning days of winter 2020 saw the release of "Spirits," the band's second single, and the final shows any of us would play or attend for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, the band managed to have a productive summer — July saw the release of Precursor , a stripped-back EP of songs reconstructed by Callie Marino and Wilson Zellar. The EP combined songs familiar from Dad Bod's live set and newer material. One of those new songs was opener "4/9." Eight months later, we're finally hearing that song in its new, fleshed-out form. Dad Bod is leaning wholeheartedly into their holy melancholy on "4/9." The sonic differences are what will likely first catch your ear, but the similarities are where the band shines. Rather than be completely reinvented, the spectral beauty of the original is filtered through a prism; it is transform...

Late last year, Minneapolis songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Eve Speers released their debut EP as EVV , Homebody . At a brisk nine minutes in length, it left listeners wanting more while still providing three great songs. Today, we're premiering the video for lead single and standout track "Dead to Me." One of the most immediately striking things about the video is the colorful, hazing lighting. Speers said, "My inspiration was to incorporate this idea of anger and sadness that we feel within our relationships, typically romantic ones. I wanted to mix the colors, showing the phases we can experience. The video was shot by Emily Schoonover, and Speers edited and put it together. Watch the "Dead to Me" video below. Listen to Homebody here .

  (Cover art by Chloe Crimmins ) Zaq Baker can't stop writing songs. Many of these songs have yet to see the light of day, but in recent months, the vaults have been opened. Baker's first album since 2018, Cardio , was released towards the end of 2020. Barely two months later, the theatrical master of song is putting out a new "mini LP," titled Maddie's Delivery Service .The lead single, which we're excited to be premiering here, is the studio version of a track originally released just before the pandemic. "She's Nocturnal" was originally part of Baker's as-yet-unfinished Good Kid Manic Summer project; now it serves as a hint of what's to come with the four new songs on his new record. Listening to the new, studio version of the song is like bursting into Technicolor compared to the sparse, black-and-white rendition from last year. The same group of musicians that gave Cardio its rollicking sense of momentum show up again here to invig...

(Cover art by Emily Schoonover) "Take it as it comes" is a phrase that sits atop the pile of things that are easier said than done. Emily Schoonover sings those words right at the start of bugsy's new single "overwhelming" and subsequently points out the emptiness that these platitudes tend to have on the surface. "overwhelming" is a push-and-pull battle between being pulled under the tide and swallowed by worry and continuing to swim against the tide, despite being unable to see the shore. Each new song from bugsy is an unexpected ray of sunlight on a gloomy day. I'm not sure if I can call the guitar interplay and harmonized vocals a bugsy Trademark™ at this point, but it's something to look forward to hearing every single time. The balance of dynamics perfectly matches the lyrics' emotional duality, cutting through gray, stagnant sadness with aplomb. "overwhelming" captures a period of uncertainty, pain, and paralyzing anxiety,...

  (Cover art by Present Company) Minneapolis pop-rock quartet Present Company spent most of 2020 in a whirlwind surrounding the release of their gleaming debut album, Talking on Couches . However, the band is flaunting their work ethic and releasing a new single already. "It's Not Looking Good" is the band's most effortless song yet. Present Company embraces their new wave heritage and play with some of the most iconic elements of that era — hooky bass lines, primitive yet effective synth programming, and the wild vocal fluctuations of David Byrne. I really can't understate how much the song evokes the Talking Heads. The band clearly knew how perfectly they were nailing the aesthetic and how catchy every part of their songwriting was when they structured the song as a loop. The first seconds are spent fading in; the last are a fade out. In between, a M.C. Escher drawing's worth of intersecting melodies and hooks is constructed. The honed-in version of Presen...

(Cover art by Kathy Callahan ) Rochester, MN's Dylan Hilliker normally spent his days managing bands ( Why Not , Gully Boys ) and putting together the yearly Rockchester music festival. However, without the ability to host live shows or for bands to tour, Hilliker found himself drawn into music in a different way. Over the spring and summer of 2020, he picked up his guitar again and started writing. Time spent processing our universal isolation translated into The Great Pause , Hilliker's debut album under the Horse Tornado moniker; "Make the Bend" is our first taste. This technically isn't a new project — Hilliker dumped six years' worth of demos on the Horse Tornado Bandcamp page in 2018. But "Make the Bend" marks a much more focused and deliberate launch. Local friends from Greentop , Why Not, and Hilliker's old band Dystonia contribute across the record, with songwriter Zach Zurn handling the production. "Make the Bend" starts inn...

We've had a bit of a rough go of it, huh? I haven't been to a show since March 11 (Marmalade + bugsy tour kick-off at Hi Watt House), which I'm guessing (and hoping) is roughly how long it's been for most of you too. Virtually every DIY band who was planning to tour, record, or release new music had to at worst cancel or at best rearrange everything. 2020 was a year of adaption. Without any of the prior infrastructure supporting a musician's livelihood, everyone had to scrounge together whatever they could to keep sane and try to survive. After approximately nine months of *gestures to everything*, we've hit the end point; the time to reflect. These are just some of the albums that brought me joy this year, that reminded me how incredible it is to be able to participate in such a community. I'm grateful to have been able to interview four out of five of these bands (Dad Bod, you're next) and help share their music and words with people across the state a...

Each new song from Minneapolis' Poolboy is a masterclass in widescreen indie. I don't mean that in the indulgent, Marvel Cinematic Universe sense of skyscraper-sized emotions and sensory overload — rather, the band has honed in on an auteur-style approach, crafting each new song with the delicate ears of the detail-obsessed. "Good Orchard," Poolboy's latest single (released towards the tail-end of November) is one of their most minimal. It begins only with softly pattering drums, an electronic whir, and Seth Conover's placid vocals. The band glows like a wistful lantern; Conover sings of half-remembered sentiments, a maternal world, and "[scaling] the fence of time." Temporality does not apply to the unplaceable uncertainty he is staring down with each passing phrase. Patience is the name of the game for the song's composition. It never quite bursts, but it begins to find its way home by the end. Poolboy shows off an ability to dig up moments of...

    (Cover art by Dillon Bauman) Careful Gaze has had a busy year and they're ending it with a bang. Despite the crushing uncertainty that comes attached to every day since the middle of March, the Minneapolis post-hardcore trio has found unique ways to create and release new music — three standalone singles, a fourth song tied in to a novella that will see yearly updates, a Christmas cover, and now a six-song EP to give 2020 the send-off that it deserves. As long as the pandemic rages on (which seems to be at least for the next 8-10 months), bands seem to be drawn towards what might be described as "stopgap" releases — shorter batches of songs that they can put together remotely and use as a way to retain the momentum they built pre-COVID with touring and recording. Careful Gaze is defying those assumptions with LOUD HOWLS THE ETERNAL WOLF!   "We knew we wanted to end the year out with something that felt larger, more cinematic, and more important together," ...

Different bands have found different ways to cope with the pandemic and try to stay productive. Admiral Fox decided to make use of the free time presented by the initial period of lockdown by reworking the entirety of 2018's self-recorded debut Winter in Limbo . "Marcie Make It Better," a live staple and fan favorite, is our first taste of the new version of the album. The original Winter in Limbo was recorded while frontman Dan DeMarco was in the process of moving to Minneapolis, done entirely in GarageBand with his MacBook's built-in mic. The album was released before he had even met any of his future bandmates. In the two years since, Admiral Fox has grown into a quartet and released an album and an EP . The new versions of these old songs retain the "lo-fi, home-recorded edge" of the originals while simultaneously showing off the band's synchronicity. "I had better recording gear, a more capable voice, and more recording experience, so [quara...