MINNESOTA SOUND REVIEWS - 5/21/2025
Reviews by: Alexandra Haynes, Writer @xalexonlinex
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @PlaylistTC
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Alison Wilder "Emily"
“Emily” is a heart-wrenching eulogy. This June 2024 release from singer-songwriter Alison Wilder has a romantic sound pallet, adding intentional layers of softness and care to its tribute in respect and honor for the song’s namesake while being well-suited to Wilder’s usual style. Her evocative vocals are emotive and raw, joined harmoniously by backing vocals which add a gentle complexity; they re-enforce the realization that many others who loved this song’s muse are left behind, to remember her and share her story. Fellow local bloggers Mostly Minnesota interviewed Wilder last June upon the song’s release - I highly recommend giving the article a read for more context as Wilder shares its story.
Killusonline "556"
Killusonline have an incredibly slick style, with flowing rap laid over hardcore, snarlingly melodic and aggro beats. “556,” a single released in March 2025, is insanely cool, stomping into metal territory with heavy-handed drumming and noisy, distortion-dripped guitars. They don’t lose sight of their sonic identity here — instead, Killusonline dance headfirst towards it, infectiously weaving their influences together into a composition that is so much fun to listen to, and so very them. Its accompanying music video showcases the band knows to lean into their early 2000s punk metal tendencies, with glitchy computer graphics playing a role in crafting the band’s aesthetic. This song is making its way into my rotation.
GardenStreet "Midnight Snow"
“Midnight Snow” showcases GardenStreet’s hallmarks oh so well but twists their sound in a romantic, languishing direction. Where there has previously been a bluesier or gruffier context, here we hear their lead vocalists’ charmingly soulful voice and the band’s masterful command of their instruments used to maintain a smooth, jazzy atmosphere for this love song. “Midnight Snow” is the band’s newest release, a single from February 2024, which sees its protagonist “walking the city through the Midnight Snow / To hold your hand and not let go / I walked outside in the pouring rain / So I could see your face again.”
Tufawon, Proper-T "Hold Me Up"
Tufawon and Proper-T bring us the ultimate self-love summer track with this one. Featuring a meaningful promise to ones self and a loved one that you can be “the one that [they] can celebrate,” this single released in April 2025 is an appeal to self-improvement, self-compassion, and knowing your worth. Produced with a chill-hop, Afro-Latin influence, and featuring a playful 808 kick that’s brightener than trap and surrounded by whimsical electronic beats, “Hold Me Up” has a light-hearted innocence, a flair that’s tender and full of good vibes. Its lyrics appeal to finding a requited love where you are valued - “I feel that I’m a prize / I need someone to hold me down” … “No more need to no more cry now / No need to hide me away / We acknowledge a journey / We look forward to brighter days.”
Ingeborg von Agassiz "Comrade"
Ingeborg von Agassiz has an absolutely beautiful electro-folk style, where her use of electronic instruments to create expansive and mystical soundscapes compliments her gorgeous, angelic voice. Agassiz’s “Comrade,” released in March 2025, is twinkling poeticism, with lyrics evoking themes of obedience, warfare, and internal conflict (“I took my orders / Guarded the borders / But still, I was going mad … I signed up for it, but now deplore it / Ooh, what fun I could have had.”) She compares herself to aspen trees, coming to the conclusion that “they’ll never sway as much as me.” Using rich synthpop as a map to navigate emotional growth, philosophical contradictions, and your conscience is an extremely welcome musical experience.
Airport Motel "Foolin' Around"
“Foolin’ Around” has fabulous but revealing lyrics, exposing the nature of the song’s protagonist, Farmer John, and the silly cause and effect scenarios in life that may become self-limiting if he allows them to be. Set upon an electro-acoustic bed of charming instrumentation, Airport Motel’s rhymes are cheeky and multitudinous - “Couldn’t run a marathon / He ordered things from Amazon / Couldn’t be an astronaut, ‘cos / He believes in leprechauns / Works inside a parking lot / His ex-wife’s now a debutante.” They can feel deprecating while being contradictingly neutral, if not compassionately empathetic, to the life Farmer John has lived. As I find myself relating to ol’ John in odd little ways, I am reminded of Duncan Trussell paraphrasing his many spiritual teachers: “Sink into what you are right now.” If you relate to some of these words like I did, find peace in being able to sing aloud that you, too, are “Just foolin’ around.” We control our destinies, and sometimes, our mess makes us fun. At worst, it simply makes us human. Thanks for the unexpected lesson, Airport Motel.
