Each month, we’re rounding up the latest local music that’s been on repeat. Follow our Spotify playlist to keep up with new music releases from Minnesota.
“Your Internet Sucks” by Ber
Rising indie-pop artist Ber is becoming a searing voice among her generation, with her highly anticipated Halfway EP coming soon. “Your Internet Sucks,” with a video fittingly filmed during a snow emergency in Minnesota, encapsulates what makes Ber tick—its humorous with the painful honesty of a diary entry.
“Slow Down” by Matthew French
Think of Matthew French as the non-country version of Keith Urban. The singer creates love songs that are always tinged with a bit of heartache and sadness, but in the cavern of darkness, he finds his way out and the love always shines through. French shoot pinholes of laser-light through the fog, and deliver songs more sharp, more deliberately designed and more emotional than the majority of his contemporaries. “Slow Down” is the lead song on the second EP Two Sides that Matthew released last year.
“Anam Cara” by Annie Fitzgerald
In Gaelic, “Anam Cara” means soul and friend, and Annie Fitzgerald embodies positive energy in all of the work she puts out into the world. The singer recently started a meditation practice to center herself and her newest single is grounding and angelic all at once. Fitzgerald wrote the song as a reminder for those people that give her a safe space to be whole. It also was a reminder to root into those safe places where there is deep knowing & trust. As you listen, you get the sense Annie knows what she’s doing and where she’s going.
“Ice Cream” by Cottonwood Shivers
For fans of Andrew Bird, Cottonwood Shivers recalls stripped down sensibility of Bird’s sound. The effect is slightly mesmerizing, like when you see someone in the street who looks just like an old friend, and only to realize after raising your hand in greeting that it’s not them. “Ice Cream” is enigmatic on its own, and the song unfurls like plant shoots, growing towards the sun.
“in.end.out” by theyself
Simple and taut, Doc, known musically under the moniker theyself, is delicate and soulful on his latest single “in.end.out.” The track is layers of guitar and vocals that add depth and complexity that rival Adele in “Send My Love.” “in.end.out” dances, deviates, and transports its sound out of depths of Doc’s psyche. Their songs are fully disarming and genuinely affecting and rare.
“Winter” by Thomas Abban
Thomas Abban is a master of crafting complex soulful and melodic music. “Winter” off his latest EP Deep Winter sends us on a roller coaster of sounds and finds the warmth that we are seeking in the middle of a deep winter. It’s the perfect balance between melody and yet retaining the winsome off-kilter quality that Abban knows how to compose. The rest of the album also deserves a spin and showcases his vocals beautifully.