FAVORITE MINNESOTA EPS OF 2025
Reviews by: Alexandra Haynes, Writer @xalexonlinex, Sarah Steffen, Writer @dancingfishevents, Andrew Perrizo, Owner @MelodicNoiseMedia
Edited by: Alexandra Haynes, Writer @xalexonlinex, Andrew Perrizo, Owner @MelodicNoiseMedia
2025 was a shitshow, but seems to pale in comparison to how 2026 has started. ICE is currently occupying the Twin Cities and everything is chaos. I honestly feel guilty for taking time to write about music in this moment. I sincerely hope that this article and the music included in it gives you a chance to rest your mind, come up for air, and refocus on the fight ahead. Here are some of our writers’ favorite EPs of 2025.
Alexandra’s Favorite EPs:
Careful Gaze “one day you will let this go”
Occasionally, an EP floors you, moves you beyond an entertaining listening experience and transports you somewhere with its curation. Careful Gaze succeeded in creating transformational art in this way, expanding their post-hardcore sound palette into the realm of ambience as they delivered an emotive three track EP with a runtime of 18 minutes. Taking the listener on a ride through a poignant, contemplative soundscape, their choice of more electronic instrumentals dominate, setting a stage for minimal but impactful lyricism. An exploration in dark catharsis, “you are the strongest that I know” is a warning in dissolving connections and hurt; “nothing lost, nothing owned” samples the Ram Dass lecture “Being Free Together,” drawing attention to the complexity of human relationships and the ways in which we use one another (or should avoid doing so,) “of what it means to be safe space for another person.” Gabriel Reasoner’s vocals come into more of their expected strength on the final song, which shares the EP’s name and establishes the damning final tone of the record - “Nothing can save you / That’s just how things are … / … It’s fucked no matter what.” The score throughout soars optimistically in places, dipping in and out of intensity, but mostly finds itself aligned with a certain flavor of despair that is absorptive, heart-wrenching, and feels necessary to have been expressed and for us to bear witness to.
Favorite Track: one day you will let this go
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Slime Monsters from Outer Space “Battle Songs of the Revolution”
With riffs to rattle your bones, the first track on Slime Monsters from Outer Space’s Battle Songs of the Revolution puts the band’s rock foot forward. The serious instrumentals in “Spud Nothin’” have a glorious wonk to them that makes me lean to and fro, getting into step and groove with the sludge. Following this is my second favourite song of the bunch, the previously reviewed “They Came from the Sky!” which introduces catchy vocals to the mix and is so much fun to listen to. By the time I reached track three, “Hunger,” I was fully slimed out. The vocals are drowned in the mix here but the distance creates an interesting effect as aggressive, overdriven tones work their noisy magic front of house. “Red Star Vanguard” makes a fantastic stink right after, drenched equally in metal and punk inspirations with gorgeous shouted vocals and slower, temptuous melodies which let you linger and headbang. Luckily for me, it has the longest run time of the lot as my favorite track on the EP. Last but not least, Slime Monsters from Outer Space close the record with “Eclipse of Liberation,” a reverberating and spacious clamor to pump the blood one last time.
Favorite Tracks: Red Star Vanguard, They Came from the Sky!
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Dissociate “Fractured Remembrances: Music from the Play”
Dissociate’s Fractured Remembrances: Music from the Play is a fantastic showcase of industrial-chic soundtracking. Dramatic and full, each track is a many layered beast of synth sound design, rich in scope and sequence as the EP takes you through its haunted storytelling. Beautifully discomforting, there are buzzes, grinds, and metallic squeals throughout which keep a gritty, multi-textured focus on the surreal and all-encompassing universe described by these sounds. With my eyes closed, Dissociate’s climbing, eerie songs paint thrilling, gothic pictures in my imagination. The cyberpunk vibe is not lost on me as wavering and tonal oscillations take on an action-forward, sci-fi adventure feel in tracks like “Tension” and “Faceless Ones.” The closing track “Aster’s Theme” is a stand-out, breaking the mold of the EP’s usual tone with a distinctive fairground melody shimmying over the more familiar dark techno.
Favorite Track: Tension
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Sarah’s Favorite EP’s:
Eldest Daughter “Cactus Magnet”
2025 started with a bang and a debut EP from one of Minnesota’s most exciting new bands: Eldest Daughter. There truly is nothing more cathartic than scream-singing along to the title track, “Cactus Magnet”, while cruising down the highway. Monica and Eldest Daughter capture heartache, growing up, moving on, and letting go all in one unforgettable track.
The EP brings a fresh perspective to themes like growing pains, love and loss. My favorite track, “Again”, reflects on a past love; “Would I want it again, If I knew what I know now then, Would I need it again?”. All I can say is that I hope that Eldest Daughter will bring us new music again and again and again.
Favorite Track: Again
Website: eldestdaughterband.com
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D.C. Leonhardt “The Greenway Sessions (Live)”
One of Minnesota’s finest young folk musicians and lyricists, D.C. Leonhardt, is back with a live album this year. Recorded at Greenway Recording in Minneapolis in front of a live audience, each track is a single take. D.C.’s lyrical playing and deep voice shine on the EP, but the true wonder is his gorgeous storytelling and lyrics. Each track will break your heart with its beauty, and it will come as no surprise that D.C. is also a poet. My favorite tracks are the first two on the EP, “Tornado Alley Blues (Live)” and “Spittin’ on the Sidewalk (Live)”. Grab your box of tissues, and give The Greenway Sessions (Live) a listen in the New Year.
Favorite Track: Spittin’ on the Sidewalk (Live)
Website:dcleonhardt.com
Gill Weather (Formerly Oceanographer) “Deep Sea Diver”
Oceanographer’s debut EP, Deep Sea Diver, has been on heavy rotation in my playlists since its release in May. “Midwestern Cowboy” has been one of my favorite songs since I first heard Val and Oceanographer perform it, and I’m thrilled that I can now listen to it on repeat. The depth of emotion and harmonies bursting from the track will leave you breathless. Angsty, sweet, and searing, this short but deep EP is sure to leave you wanting more, and humming melodies to yourself for days to come. I can’t wait to see where Oceanographer charts a course and sets sail next.
Favorite Track: Midwestern Cowboy
Website: oceanographerband.com
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Astronomy Town “Lamps”
Lamps is my favorite surprise of 2025. I am naturally drawn to vocal harmonies and clever lyrics, but Astronomy Town’s flawless EP sucked me in without the benefit of either. Lamps opens with haunting wind chimes in “Bring Back Long Song Names Like in 2007.” There is nothing more satisfying than listening through an album that just takes you deeper and deeper into a world of its own making. Lamps does this seemingly effortlessly. Each track builds on the last, and adds a new element or theme to consider.
What I like most about this band, both in their music and in conversations with them, is that you can tell how much fun they are having together. This EP is full of joy and love. Whether you are an avid local music fan or a new instrumental dabbler such as myself, Lamps is for you.
Favorite Track: Quina
Bandcamp: astronomytown.bandcamp.com/album/lamps
Poison Ivy And The People “Robot Ghost”
The Twin Cities’s most energetic and engaging live performer, Ivy, shines bright on Poison Ivy And The People’s debut EP, Robot Ghost. Bright, electrifying, and theatrical rock tracks with brutally honest lyrics will make you want to leave it all on the dance floor. With driving bass lines and vocal flourishes, Robot Ghost captures the magic of Poison Ivy And The People’s entrancing live performances. Astonishing vocal control and a lifetime of theater training allow Ivy to craft something “wild and sincere" with this EP. If you have a chance, be sure to catch a Poison Ivy And The People show in 2026. You won’t regret it.
Favorite Track: Robot Ghost
Bandcamp: poisonivyandthepeople.bandcamp.com/album/robot-ghost
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Conzemius “Of the Water”
Conzemius is bringing a dreamy new sound to Minneapolis. Her stunning debut EP, Of the Water, commands attention with its polish and professionalism. Conzemius’s incandescent lyrics and ethereal soundscapes bring to mind well-established artists such as Fiona Apple and Rhye. Jill Conzemius’s mastery of language is impressive, yet she reaches beyond words to express a well of insight and feeling that can perhaps only be expressed through sound and texture.
Conzemius also released a cover of Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Right Place” as a single in 2025, and it is lovely. I expect to see more and more eyes on Conzemius as she continues to reach wider audiences.
Favorite Track: Of the Water
Website: conzemiusmusic.com
Andrew’s Favorite EP’s:
SLDG “…Of My Own Design”
When I listen to …Of My Own Design by SLDG I’m sure the lyrics are great, but for me the experience is more about being pummeled by every element of these three songs. The moment you hit play, the EP bursts into existence with a heavy guitar riff and building drums, setting the stage for everything to fully break open quite literally from the word “Go!” The soaring vocals combined with the stuttering guitar and double kicks on “Out Of Here” make it my favorite track, plus I’m just a sucker for a breakdown. “Skeletons” slows things down a bit, starting off with a sludgy intro, but carrying the same intensity through until the somber piano outro.
Favorite Track: Out of Here
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townsquaremassacre “three songs”
I don’t know if I can explain why I love three songs so much. The shrieking, unintelligible lyrics over heavy-twinkling emo instrumentals just make me smile. This EP feels free and fun. These songs remind me of a time in my life when I was seeing shows in basements and absorbing the moment rather than trying to quantify an experience. There is much more to this EP, but again, I don’t think I can explain it. If you get it, you get it, and if you don’t, you just don’t and probably never will.
Favorite Track: a one and a two…
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Bunny Blood “Was It Me?” and “Watercolor”
Alright, I’m cheating a little bit here. I love both of the EPs Bunny Blood released in 2025. Both Was It Me? and Watercolor are “Poppy Nu Doom,” “Sludge Gaze,” or however you want to define glorious chugging guitar/bass with soaring pop influenced vocals and pounding drum patterns. Each EP puts the band’s technical instrumentation on full display, with tight and clean production tying the songs together. For me, the stand out tracks are the title track “Was It Me?” which describes drifting through dreams, and “Scroll” which addresses the addictiveness of doom scrolling and the feelings associated with it. I was given a sneak peek at their upcoming, third EP; I’m definitely excited for the direction Bunny Blood is going. Look for that coming out later this year.
Favorite Track: Dizzy and Scroll
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Doll Chaser “Unseam the Rich”
I love political punk, it’s a weak spot of mine. My favorite political punk EP of 2025 was Doll Chaser’s Unseam the Rich. The lyrics are passionate cries ranging from calls for class unity to trans rights to religion. My two favorite tracks are “Rise Up,” a song about the difficulty of unifying and revolutionizing labor when you also need a paycheck to survive, and “All Bark” which calls out slacktivists who are unwilling to log off and bring revolution into the real world (which I myself have been guilty of in the past.) The instrumentation on Unseam the Rich is oh so pleasantly punk, with a thumping bass forward in the mix. Doll Chaser provides the perfect and needed soundtrack for the history we are living through.
Favorite Track: Rise Up
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Sonic Sea Turtles “EVERYTHING IS CALM”
Don’t let the soothing lapping of water and cawing gulls intro lull you into thinking EVERYTHING IS CALM, because it is not. That becomes clear when the kick drum enters with a faster than expected pace, followed by the guitar shifting from chill noodling to an anxious riff. At this point, you’re waiting for everything to break loose; the wait isn’t long as the dual vocals diverge, with Kaylin’s vocals remaining calm as Danny’s vocals build to shouting the lyrics. What follows is pure punk excellence, with “Dancing, Pt. 2” being the pop-punk leaning center of this delicious post-hardcore sandwich. “Edge of the Forest” might be my favorite of the three tracks, with weaving vocals and intense, distorted instrumentals that feel almost primal. After writing this, I discovered more songs are being released for this EP in 2026.
Favorite Track: EVERYTHING IS CALM
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Eldest Daughter “Cactus Magnet”
What Sarah said above, these songs are all amazing. I love catching clever turns of phrase throughout Cactus Magnet. Each song seems sweet, sad, and hopeful/defiant all at once. The indie-pop-rock backing combined with vocals that feel like they were delivered with a dry smirk reminds me of some of my favorite bands of the early 2000s.
Favorite Track: Nobody’s Son
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Honorable Mentions:
A Sunken Ship Irony Tangled Smoke
Bathtub Cig you can smoke if it's hospice
Crush Card The Plan
Father Melissa Xxn00bpwnerxX
Fumbler, Orion Riitters The Desert Ethereal
honeygirl Chrysalis
Jackson Atkins Expectation
Mayfly Moon The Creature
Planer The End EP
Oceanographer Deep Sea Diver
Shrive Leach
Sophie Hiroko to the core
Soulkeeper Join Us In Creating Exellence
Stellala Bea Playing for Tips EP
sugarcoat this is all normal
Two Weeks Past Never Glitterbomb!
Waking Hours Blank Stare
Zippy Laske Zippy Laske
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