MINNESOTA SOUND REVIEWS - 3/11/2026n
Reviews by: Alexandra Haynes, Writer @xalexonlinex
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @melodicnoisemedia
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Father Melissa “All The Food is Poison”
With an early aughts aesthetic for its release, the single “All The Food is Poison” with its meme-themed B-side “Go Piss Girl” dropped in January 2025 under the title Xxn00bpwnerxX (fun!) “All The Food is Poison” is a short and rowdy trip boasting a doomy feel, saturated with fry screaming and with gratifyingly brutal, low growls bursting out over the heavy instrumentation by the end of the song. With a distinctive metalcore character, this hardcore track is seriously mosh-worthy while still carrying a scene kid feel.
Alison Wilder “The 90’s”
From the EP Wilder, released in August 2025, “The 90’s” touches on Alison Wilder’s usual folk pop charm while serving a tasteful dose of musical surprises. The nostalgia here is personal, pining for a bygone era which may have positively impacted the present if an unrequited love had been reciprocated decades ago - “I wonder who I would be / If it was you and me.” Building atmospheric chemistry with an ethereal through-line, synth/electronic organs mingle beautifully with Wilder’s strong but sentimental vocals. This song is unafraid to make space, crafting open rolling plains of sound before hiking over them boldly, a rock beat switch-up halfway through the track transitions into something more complex.
Honeybutter “SWIM”
Originally released as a single in April 2023, this song is now the opening track on Honeybutter’s debut EP, Things That Bump at Night pt. 1 (March 2025.) As the project’s name suggests, their music is smooth and sweet. Especially, here on “SWIM” we get to indulge on silky, warm, soulful vocals that do indeed melt like butter over a playful electronic beat. The chorus reveals a double meaning to the otherwise melodically sensual track. Honing in on the lyrics, we can understand who must SWIM away - “Men in suits think they’re going to rule the world … Swim, you motherfuckers … We’re coming for you.” As “we’re coming for you” is repeated, intensity rises.
honeygrl “HE LIKES A GIRL !!!”
honeygrl has a penchant for delivering femme emo ballads — “HE LIKES A GIRL !!!” is no exception. This is a journal entry about a crush who isn’t reciprocating romantic feelings, where the last hope for a relationship with him has fallen but a difficult friendship may remain (“What a shame he likes a girl / And it’s not me … Last night when they were foolin’ around / I painted my pillow.”) Her wicked vulnerability is powerfully sang, catchy with its repetition of the title lyric, over a classic pop punk composition. It first released as a single in September 2024 but recently became track three of seven on the November 2025 EP - the artist’s first - Chrysalis.
True Green “Falconry”
“Falconry” is a gorgeous piece of folk punk storytelling, where poetic musings on falcon training suggest deeper metaphors in the relationship of man to beast and the nature of rescue (“How do the strong / fall to the weak?”) Delicate folk instrumentation and soft vocals wind together in complete harmony, creating an incredibly tender atmosphere. This is worth several, intentional listens to absorb the tale and its implications. This was released as track two of three on True Green’s mini-release, Consider the Priesthood/Falconry in January 2025.
Twain, FoxyBrownSkin “Public”
“Public,” released on The Love Triangle Project in October 2025, begins with a live and improvised back-and-forth between Twain and FoxyBrownSkin, establishing the flirty dynamic and tone of the track. “Public” is raw commentary on the nature of “the game,” of observing each other’s boundaries in contemporary dating and hookup culture. How public do two people want, or have, to be, in whatever stage of their relationship they are spotted together? What’s healthy? What’s desirable? What does everyone else get to see? Twain sexily suggests, “They ain’t gotta see the shopping sprees/and the long stroke in the dark that left you knock-kneed.” He moves with confidence in himself and his prowess, humble bragging about his treatment of his lover, despite their discrepancies in approaching PDA - “post all you want, just know that I won’t.” FoxyBrownSkin’s feature, from the female perspective, suggests she’s “ain’t locked in, never boxed in,” knows that people “wanna see a show” and that she’s only fucking “with equals, that’s how [she moves.]” Slick and matching self-assurances, she offers her lover some warnings of her own - “You ain’t the only one that’s tryna shoot your shot / The wordplay sounds nice, but can you earn your spot?”
