MINNESOTA SOUND REVIEWS - 7/23/2025
Reviews by: Alexandra Haynes, Writer @xalexonlinex
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @PlaylistTC
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Mother Coyote "Eden"
Purposefully muffled, whisper-soft vocals come in over orchestral piano melodies in “Eden’s” opening before everything kicks into swing and Andirana Lehr’s vocals are brought up to full volume, front of the mix. This burst of closeness after the lull closes the gap between the listener and the song and pulls you in. Lehr’s theatrically strong voice really shines throughout, with “Eden” feeling like it belongs to a fantastical musical. The instrumentals are appropriately cinematic and full, with a mysterious rise to them. There is a magical quality to the composition, emboldened by backing vocals which, with lines like “I was living, breathing prayer,” matched to main lyrics “I walked my way through the fire / With a burning desire that can’t be bought / Without lifetimes of loss” reinforce the song’s spiritual concepts - karma and reincarnation, among a few. Mother Coyote released this song in November, 2024 on the EP When the War Comes.
Henry Howard and the Six Strings "Buffalo Rock"
“Buffalo Rock,” from Henry Howard and the Six Strings’ Snowy Side of the Street album (released in April 2025), is cited by the singer-songwriter as the first song he ever wrote at seventeen years old. Having finished it with fresh, and older eyes, here we have that final version of the track on his debut album. Stripped back and exceptionally gentle, “Buffalo Rock” needs no tricks or heavy production - it’s raw and acoustic, befitting this project’s minimalist folk music style. A harmonica features briefly, bluesy but bright, adding a burst of lifted spirit to the otherwise mellow and soft tones.
paper beast "Time On My Hands"
Drenched in a layer of fuzziness, paper beast lean into gaze here but don’t get swallowed up by the noisier elements of the genre. While their tones are far from clean, the melodies are by contrast, pleasant for the ear to follow with distortions never cranked up to their maximum volume. This makes “Time on My Hands,” the second track on the band’s Hello Oblivion album (released in April 2025), an easy listen. Its crashing drums, guitar riffs that have a lilt and rock’n’roll swagger to them, and sweet, soothing vocals combine to make this one sound extremely groovy.
Danger Club "Bad Kinda Fit"
Danger Club’s melodies approach electroswing as they wield contemporary composition tricks over classic, funkier instrumentals. “Bad Kinda Fit,” released as a single in March 2025, features a horn section, extremely slappy bassline, and synth fills that create a distinctive sound over which, pop-style vocals play and bring the pop music angle to the table. Despite its cheeriness, the lyrics are solemn, lamenting on the protagonist’s ex moving on post-breakup and how they were a “Bad Kinda Fit / That’s the reason why it feels like shit.”
Crowfather "Boss Fight"
High production beats create a lovely soundscape for Crowfather’s raps to come in hard on. Crowfather’s vocals here are low and smooth, his bars a reclamation of the kind of lifestyle that he finds may be punishing (“How many urns I gotta pile? … How many family ties defiled ‘fore I finally learn my lesson?”) His wordplay here is indulgent, with mid-sentence rhymes that stand out to affect his flow and create their own melodies and edges with his vocals alone. Crowfather leans heavily into his interests on “Boss Fight” (released on the thematic EP Late Nights and Side Quests in March 2025,) referencing, of course, high stakes gaming scenarios and using that as a metaphor for his IRL conundrums. Much like playing a boss over and over until you beat it, Crowfather reckons with his reality that his lifestyle is, although sometimes painful, honest and the one he’s happily chosen - “If this the hill I’mma die upon at least the view’s tight / … my heart has kept me firmly planed in the Midwest / Where I’m never alone, I got my murder and my setlist.” Bonus point for the crow puns!
The Cameras "Baby Blue"
“Baby Blue” released as a B-Side in February 2025 to “Paper Cuts” (reviewed by our very own Andy Ellis for Andy's Songs of the North Playlist Reviews - July 2025.) Both songs were packaged digitally as Two Love Songs. “Baby Blue” is my favorite of the two — it has psychedelic riffs that ooze, tangibly oscillating on stereo speakers (or in that one good pair of headphones you have - go crack them out for this!) The way The Cameras play with their sonic space is delightfully trippy, each instrumental piece perfectly placed and reverberating to maintain an intoxicated groove. As they oh so successfully evoke a hallucinatory soundscape, the band’s gentle additions add a ton of flair (shakers, keys, silky pop vocals, and guitar solos — which showcase skill without breaking the listener out of the baked haze of the carefree composition.) The lyrics are incredibly sweet, serenading sunshine over their muse, their best friend and lover.
