MINNESOTA SOUND REVIEWS - 4/22/26
Reviews by: Alexandra Haynes, Writer @xalexonlinex
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @melodicnoisemedia
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k3ko, Obvdiah “easy”
Twinkly production from Obvdiah is built from the ground up with digital instrumentation, looping with soft, bloopy bass blasts adding a playfulness to the innocent sound palette. k3ko’s autotune enhanced rap-singing on “easy” illuminates us on the dynamic between her and a lover, the lyrics referencing their physical compatibility (“You lay me down and then you get me up,” “If you keep getting close, bae / I think I’mma flourish / Open like lotus, I might be exploding.”) Later, k3ko’s back-up harmonies, mirroring her own lead with vocal runs, add character and maturity to the mix. “easy” is the second track on k3ko’s new pop-cum-R’n’B album, FRVR!, which released in April 2026.
Sensing Agony “Happy Song”
Sensing Agony pull out all their tricks on “Happy Song,” the band’s latest single (April 2026). Jessica, the band’s lead vocalist, begins with a ton of fry, adding her own texture atop the heavy performance enthusiastically and skillfully played by the rest of the band (Kyan on guitar, Ben on drums, Shawn on bass.) The drumming stands out here, keeping everything tight. It’s a treat when Jessica’s voice brightens and clears, dropping the scratch before she bursts into fully committed screams. A mini breakdown sludges things up a little right before the song’s end.
DAEMONAUT “Epoch”
I love when heavy sounds mate with funkiness to create sweet little earworm babies. When I’m invited to dance instead of mosh, even when the potential energy is there to throw elbows, I’m at my happiest. Swaying and headbanging in equal measure, I let my body go to “Epoch,” DAEMONAUT’s yes, funky post-hardcore tune. It’s almost totally instrumental, a delicate sprinkle of vocals simply sign-posting a sort of chorus for us amongst the proggy wandering. “Epoch” is brilliant - noisy in the right places with nothing overplayed or undervalued. It’s track two of four on the three-piece’s debut EP, Frame Dragging (January 2026). Tasteful and jammy, this song made it into my “likes” for random future listening. Thanks, shuffle. Thanks, DAEMONAUT.
Kalopsya “Breath of God”
Kalopsya’s latest single, “Breath of God” (March 2026), is nearly five minutes of death metal goodness. Classically rabid, rambunctious drumming drives the pace excellently while soaring guitar solos and riffs tell their own story. The vocals are growled out, held onto, and oscillate between their low, mid, and fried ranges. This song is capable of transporting you somewhere scenic and otherworldly — let it take you there. Deliciously concise, Kalopsya are proving their chops. “Breath of God” will be featured on the band’s second EP, Servant of the Void, which drops tomorrow.
Favourite Girl “Thank You”
“Thank You” is, in part, an elaboration on the sarcasm required to respond to mansplaining — “Showin’ me where to plug my guitar, I’m already playin’, thank you! / Interrupting me to explain what I was already sayin’, thank you!” This is a feel good track, despite the subject matter touching on something pretty raw to most of us femmes who have been belittled, at some point, by men. Here, we get some catharsis in singing along and bopping to the snazzy rock’n’roll melodies with their shouted back-up vocals (“Hey! Hey!”) and the trumpet section which fully animates it. The song’s therapeutic value is the main intention for our interaction with it, with Favourite Girl drawing attention to the ridiculousness of sexism. This is the first track on the project’s eponymous debut album, released in April 2026.
Kaleem The Dream “BERNIE”
Kaleem The Dream serves us a little social commentary through the personal perspective on “BERNIE,” released in February 2026. Mostly, he discusses his own movement through space, place, and time, in life and in the Minnesotan scene; there’s a back-and-forth he demos at the end, a play-out of the commentary surrounding him: “Hey bro, are you still rapping? I need a feature… We ain’t really tight like that,” / “What’s your Minnesota top five?” / “How the fuck you get P Soul on that? He ain’t dropped a track in fifteen years.” / His ass do not be in the hood for real…” Kaleem makes it clear over a breezy hip hop beat that “[he doesn’t] care if you like [him.]” Releasing anxieties about others’ opinions and boosting his own self-esteem, Kaleem owns his story with fluid raps, relaxing into the beat without losing sharpness. The “Ya trick ya!” ad-lib got itself firmly stuck in my head.
