Early Eyes is a five-piece band from Minneapolis, Minnesota making pop music for the end of the world.
“Look Alive!” Writeup:
It’s a foreboding time to make pop music. But like a sunbeam peering through a haze of wildfire smoke, Early Eyes have somehow persevered through dashed dreams, fractured relationships, historic social justice uprisings in their own hometown, and a society tearing apart at the seams to make an album that is both responsive to the chaos and wearily optimistic.
“It almost feels like Look Alive! is a direct response to the pandemic,” bandleader Jake Berglove reflects. “It was like, oh, my goodness, all of our capitalist anxieties just came true! We took all of that anxiety and angry energy and put it into making a really fucked up album.”
“The album was not just an expression of all of our frustrations, but also an escape from it,” adds guitarist Joe Villano. “And I feel like the process of making it really carried us through the year.”
Look Alive! vibrates with angst, punctuated by computerized glitches and disintegrating threads of abandoned melodies that echo in the distance before roaring back to life. A track like “Chemicals” will begin with Early Eyes’ signature buoyant and catchy pop-rock, but as the song progresses it grows more ominous before shattering apart in an earthquake of rattling, subterranean bass.
Trash Panda
Trash Panda began in 2015 as the pet recording project of songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Patrick Taylor (AKA Lazuli Vane), expanding into a duo then a trio in 2016. Songs emerged from the rubbish heap of life’s disappointments even as raccoons swarmed the neighborhood, one giving the band its name and the other flowering into redemptive tracks that have gained a reputation for lifting spirits the world over. Pulling from influences as wide as neopsychedelia, soul, indie rock and pop music, the band considers themselves somewhat post-genre. Taking a fully DIY approach and choosing to record at fully at home has given the group the freedom to explore and experiment, leading to a truly unique sound. Their 2016 EP Off features crowd-favorites “Aging Out of the 20th Century,” “Off,” and “Check Please.” Trash Panda’s 2018 album The Starclimber made a splash with tongue-in-cheek banger “Atlanta Girls” and the psychedelic groove of “Heartbreak Pulsar.”After the album the band went on hiatus and pursued other projects, emerging four years later in 2022 with several new members, releasing four singles “Things Will Never Change,” “Doin’ Fine Today,”“STARHEART,” and “Made of Love,” which immediately made a buzz, featured on more than 10 of Spotify’s editorial playlists. “Doin’ Fine Today” has seen radio play in France. May 2023 brought PANDAMONIUM!, the band’s second full length record, along with several national tours through spring 2024. In Trash Panda’s first wave, only two years of frenzied creativity, the band made a regional splash touring small and mid-sized venues. Then, during its four year hiatus, the band reached a certain level of worldwide cult status with passionate fans spanning the globe. Now fans eagerly anticipate the group’s third full length album, currently taking shape and slated to release in 2025.
Thank You, I’m Sorry
Anxiety is the first word sung on Thank You, I’m Sorry’s first album. Back then it was just vocalist
Lleen Dow’s (they/them) voice and an acoustic, but three years and a full band, another album
and several heart-rending singles later it’s still on their mind. Anxiety never really goes away, but
you can learn to cope and how to enjoy everything else. The respites, the joy, the excitement
when anxiety takes a backseat. Thank You, I’m Sorry is growing, learning, indulging,
experimenting and figuring it out. Together.
Thank You, I’m Sorry came together as a band to flesh out quiet, lonely songs Lleen built on
their own and they haven’t stopped exploring and expanding their sound since. Bee Schreiner’s
(they/them) basslines effortlessly pull songs forward, knowing just when to nudge the band and
avoid getting caught in an anxiety spiral. The drums from Sage Livergood (they/them) really
bring everything together, constantly keeping pace while poking out into fills that feel like they
could shatter apart at any moment, and always finding their way back. Abe Anderson (he/him)
and Lleen’s guitar lines intertwine and bounce, refusing to sit still anywhere long enough to get
bored. Thank You, I’m Sorry come together to make a bunch of parts that feel impossible to pin
down or coalesce into something beautiful and catchy that will bounce around your head for
weeks.
