MINNESOTA SOUND REVIEWS - 11/27/2024
Reviews by: Alexandra Haynes, Writer @xalexonlinex
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @PlaylistTC
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HebbaJebba “What Do You Want Me to Say?”
“What Do You Want Me to Say?” released first as a single and later, track seven on HebbaJebba’s ten track LP “Number 2.” The band recently celebrated the album’s birth with a release party at Green Room on November 19th, featuring Nikki Lemure, Burning Blue Rain, and USPOP as supporting acts. This particular tune is a great way to showcase HebbaJebba’s brand of rock’n’roll - it’s groovy, has a danceable beat, and an altogether classic sound. Lyrically, it is much darker than it sounds, touching on the long term effects of trauma within the context of our relationships - “I’ve been towin’ the line / Thinkin’ everything would be fine / If I just don’t remind you…” I do hope to see more gigs on their calendar soon.
Paper Beast “Ought to Know”
Intriguingly brooding melodies open up and swirl around you as Paper Beast’s latest single (released in August, 2024) begins. It’s delicately hazy and a touch moody, soothing the listener’s ear while creating heartaching tension with their steadily building crescendos that resolve in a more vocal-forward, satisfying clarity. Distortion plays a beautiful role in their waves of sound, filtering glorious guitar riffs into shoegazy goodness as they follow, double, and expand upon vocal melodies at times. The many layers at work here embolden the band’s instrumentation, with skillful percussion sensitively guiding the spreading tempos. This gorgeous song implores us to acknowledge “all the things [we] have to live for.”
Crush Scene "Endsville"
“Endsville” is song chock full of spirit, reflecting on good times shared with good people at “good” bars - well, the kinds we like (“We go where beer is flowin’!”) - and makes mention of who might be left behind at close. Crush Scene wow in this one with a scaled back introduction that kicks off the story (“It was last call, we didn’t know / The final shot to end it all”) and a quick-paced tempo throughout which is impossible not to get down to. Their vocalist has a stunning, warm voice, with a range well showcased here, and each member of the band plays with great gusto. Everything about this song is fabulous. It released as the eighth track to their first full length album, “Rejection Therapy.”
sugarcoat "Friends With Benedict"
With an emo backbone, sugarcoat bring a distinguishedly alt-rock sound to the table that borders on pop-punk in this one. “Friends With Benedict” is their newest release, having dropped on Valentine’s Day this year. It’s certainly not a love song, though - rather, this describes a breakup. sugarcoat are reprimanding a jilted lover, one who stole their belongings and pushed their boundaries to the point of relationship implosion. The rhyming lyrics and storytelling style really shine, supported totally by the song’s grimier instrumentation and give-and-take melodies. The band is part of a three-act rock bill coming up on December 18th at Sneaky Pete’s, 8:30pm
John Forrest & The Model Citizens "The Casuals"
Released as a single in October, 2024, “The Casuals” is playfully composed and cleanly produced. When chord progressions melt away to expose just the bassline and clean vocals, or when all instrumentation stops and starts to drum up a new tempo, I’m left totally satisfied by the song’s variation. This is local alternative, and it rocks. Notably, I also find this song in particular to feel a little bit Britrock. John Forrest & The Model Citizens are next playing a show in North Dakota, but once they’re booking back at home, you should go see them. Their live shows are sure to be a treat!
Ciemme "The Fighter"
There’s grit baked into Ciemme’s “The Fighter,” released in April, 2024. This song smashes a ton of punk spirit into a rock’n’roll track and gets away with it fantastically. Ciemme’s use of metaphor in her spoken-word style singing is bold and lovely, each bar simultaneously, contradictingly, stripping down then re-strengthening her ego (“I swallowed my pride, now I’m spitting up fireballs … I am the fire, but I don’t know / I don’t know what to fight first.”) This is one I’m sure to revisit and commiserate with later, the next time I experience an uncertain rage that knocks around my sense of self.
