MINNESOTA SOUND REVIEWS - 11/11/2026
Reviews by: Alexandra Haynes, Writer @xalexonlinex
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @melodicnoisemedia
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League Two “I’m OK”
Wavering synth with a funky rise and soft wonk on its decay oozes a mild psychedelia into League Two’s shimmering indie rock vibe on “I’m Okay,” track three of ten on album This is Everything, released in July 2026. When all its components melt together and the vocals stagger in, we get synth rock-pop sweetness with a languid groove that feels David Byrne inspired. Lyrically, the song tackles a sense of a lack of personal achievement and identity, craving affection in the great unknown. When you are “okay with everything,” how do you find your way? The song’s final leg brings in autotune which, over the bright and endearing instrumental, reveals their Julian Casablancas-like bent.
Used Condo “Life a Sucker Dad”
Originally from Used Condo’s experimental American Birthstone album, released in 2016, “Life a Sucker Dad” subverts your expectations for rhythm and form while still retaining a somewhat musical structure from its samples. Created indeed from “patchwork 90's samples & tape loops,” “Life a Sucker Dad” is like a scratched, skipping record, stuttering its way through time and space with an unnerving clamor. The vocals are mostly unintelligibly chopped up throughout, but you can distinctively hear “Lose my mind” worked in there, a key to surrendering yourself to the dark carnival wind up that is this piece. Used Condo is the noise project of Larry Wish, who re-released American Birthstone on its 10th anniversary.
Beauty Mountain Rd “UNLRN”
Catchy ends of verses that weave into pop-punky choruses with a distinctive syllabic play on the refrain, “I wanna be care-less, care-less,” will stand out as a combination of factors that frame “UNLRN” with boy band vibes. A nostalgic bittersweetness reigns throughout this song, a surrender to wanting “unlearn everything / Who said that this was right?” Beauty Mountain Rd’s indie rock tones are large scale despite there only being two members of the project. This duo remain totally in step with one another; “UNLRN” has both mainstream appeal and indie rock charm.
American Cream Band “Don’t Burn the House Down”
American Cream Band continue to draw from the deep well of the psychedelic 60s, drenching themselves in rich musical inclusions, jamming hard and heavy here on “Don’t Burn the House Down,” the halfway point on ten track album Twin (June 2026.) Deeply inspired by Afrofuturist funk with a sci-fi sound pallet tricked out in a snazzy blend of big band instrumentation and electronic elements, they lean on the rich tapestry of sonic history from the likes of Parliament-Funkadelic, whose supernatural jams and everlasting complexity continue to wield influence over contemporary funk. The call-and-response vocals are a stand-out feature, but the wealth of instrumentation that never leaves empty space while swirling cohesively around you is a real treat to experience.
Spike and the Gandy Dancers “What You Gonna Be?”
Dark and distorted, the grungier tones at work on Spike and the Gandy Dancers’ “What You Gonna Be?” (released in December 2025) refuse to fully brighten, never forming a complete jangle but dancing on the cusp of their potential to do so. Parking the song in a relatively gothic space, Spike toys with the repression of the social expectations of suburbia to melodies that scratch my itch for alternative music that doesn’t follow the party line of being emo-adjacent, instead extracting interesting bones from the skeleton of undead rock’n’roll. The closing track on album of the same, “What You Gonna Be?” surprised me with the heavy featuring of improvisational, fluttering sax and the expectedly seductive blend of all its elements.
The Makeouts "Concrete Cadillac"
Bright bells on a tambourine add texture from the get as The Makeouts’ brand of sauntering country rock builds up a deliberate coolness, the relaxed vocal delivery invoking images of a frontman with a slicked back quiff whose lips are squirming around a loosely held cigarette as he performs to a poorly lit (but well-populated) bar room. A cheeky tale admiring the kind of woman who could give this kind of man a run for his money, “Concrete Cadillac,” released in June 2026, has a moreish quality, with sing-songing riffs conversing with the singer and rolling, bodily, around with the peppery percussion.
