MINNESOTA SOUND REVIEWS - 6/18/2025
Reviews by: Alexandra Haynes, Writer @xalexonlinex
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @PlaylistTC
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Chuck Nyberg "Jacket"
“Jacket” is folksy, acoustic and raw, structured entirely around the trail of clothes a lover may leave about the house. It begins with a sigh, with Nyberg’s knuckles rapping against his guitar, and the line “leave your jacket at my doorstep.” The lyrics escalates throughout, with each item of clothing being left behind becoming more revealing — “leave your skirt upon the chair” is repeated twice by the end. As he tastefully strips down his muse throughout, while it’s sexy, Nyberg’s romance here never feels overtly lewd or objectifying, but extremely warm, reciprocal, and affectionate. This is the first track to his recently released to streaming LP, The Quickening (April 2025, originally released in 2012.)
Full Catholic "TILT"
“TILT” is Full Catholic’s latest release, a single which dropped in April 2025. It’s dreamy and eccentric, with vocals artistically enunciated, delivered in a fashion reminiscent of the great Kate Bush. Gazey guitar effects and subtle, space-filling synthesizer expand their soundscape, which becomes gently more chaotic throughout. A rock solid rhythm section, featuring a groovy bassline and talented drumming, provides all the necessary support beams for the band’s creative layering of proggy riffs and threads together the spellbinding composition. This is art rock, and I’m a fan.
Fumbler, Orion Riitters "Study"
Released on Fumbler’s debut EP, The Desert Ethereal, “Study” has a pleasantly narcotic effect on the listener, soothing the ear and mind. This is a great example of the softer side of shoegaze, where conjoined effects emphasize charm, never escalating into a more abrasive or noisy crescendo (which, I’m not knocking.) “Study,” though, has this careful lift to it, like a flower growing towards the sun, building only to louder, prettier twists on its own melodies. Its mellow, dreamy vibe dissolves my sense of time and space, absorbing me in its sweet-tempered embrace for the full run time of a little over four minutes; the good feelings lasted well beyond my last listen for this review.
Couch Potato Massacre "Burger Time"
Pop punks Couch Potato Massacre embrace their essence with this earnest and cathartic track about being 39 and enjoying some fast food as a key feature of their still hoppin’, “party all night, party everyday” lifestyle. With “no fuel in [their] Prius” and the solemn knowledge that they “should stay home, ‘cos [their] bank account is in the hole again,” they tell an all too real story of being unable to resist eating out despite the circumstances. Frankly, we all need a little “Burger Time,” and CPM have the soundtrack for our comfort eats on those cheeky nights out. This track was released in February 2025, one of three singles so far for the upcoming Dude. Sweet.
New Confusion "counting sheep"
Drumsticks are quietly knocked together right at the start before New Confusion’s drummer unleashes a percussive battle cry, a fervid march and call to arms that activates the rest of the band. New Confusion’s gritty composition is experimental and nightmarish, a delicious combination for fans of noise. When the highly distorted guitar thrashing is pared back, threatening tones reveal themselves hauntingly, piece by piece returning to the fray. The vocals are appropriately ethereal, disarmingly lovely against the macabre, heavy instrumentals that suggest unease and chaos. Darkly beautiful, “counting sheep” is its own work of art, from the ten track noise rock album the mystery, released in April 2025. Its lyrics call attention to the song’s title, disturbingly describing the herd of sheep used to lull yourself to sleep falling over, deceased.
Wolfbabycup "acceptance"
“Everything makes you want to want it / Everything feels so complicated” is the stand-out chorus of “acceptance,” which released as a single in April 2025 — these lyrics left me sighing, relating heavily to this evident truth of our consumerist state. Do we even want the things we hanker for, or have we been convinced that we do? Are we all so busy convincing ourselves? With these questions front and center, the rest of track cradles your post-modern woes in beloved synthpop, philosophies sung sweetly atop a nostalgic sound palette of layered, sparkling synths. Wolfbabycup, as always, thrill me with their propensity towards the darkwave side of things as they play with the sonic space between hopeful tones and evocative, contradictingly anxious wonder.
