Atmosphere, “Bigger Pictures”

With a Western, T Bone Burnett-styled backtrack and Breaking Bad-inspired cinematography, Slug walks through an American desert town psychoanalyzing his troubled upbringing through poetry and hip-hop. We see this notorious Minnesota celebrity as a child, teenager and adult, all in lonely, melancholic states. The video and song may leave its audience to ponder: profound sadness and life setbacks may inspire great art, but at what cost? It’s perhaps a great tease into Atmosphere’s upcoming record So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously, releasing May 5.

Ber, “Your Internet Sucks”

Minnesota pop-rock singer Ber might be the new local queen of breakup songs. She’s killer at burning exes with her words and melodies, and her rabidly growing fanbase couldn’t be more thrilled to support her. Ber’s music video for “Your Internet Sucks” is especially satisfying in the sequence where she completely trashes the guy’s bedroom, including smashing his flat-screen TV with a wooden bat. Ber will headline a sold-out 7th Street Entry show on March 30 and then open for acclaimed Iowa-based songwriter Lissie at The Woman’s Club of Minneapolis on April 1. 

The Scarlet Goodbye, “Ballad of Julie Ann”

The Scarlet Goodbye’s new music video “Ballad of Julie Ann” can be categorized as a drama, where music, lyrics, and visuals team together with captivating beauty and enticement. Shot mostly in slow-motion and black-and-white and then contrasted with an in-color theatrical dance sequence, the video details the raw emotions of a heavy breakup. We learn the main character leaves her partner and newborn baby to return to her former life as a burlesque dancer. “Ballad of Julie Ann” is a single off The Scarlet Goodbye’s new album Hope’s Eternal, out now, with an album release on Sunday, March 26 at Icehouse with Willie Wisely. 

Beemer, “Sounds Like”

Beemer’s new music video captures the true genius of “music producer” Bud Hootley. Sure, he might be an insufferable, name-dropping know-it-all — but have you tried subbing out drumsticks for sledgehammers on your kit to get a bigger sound? It’s all the rage. So is Phrygian mode, “if you know anything.” When this groovy new Minneapolis-based indie rock band hit the big time, we’ll know the real reason — Hootley! Not partly because they put on a killer set opening for Bad Bad Hats’ sold-out show at 7th Street Entry last month. Check out their playful new synth-driven record, Sounds Like - An EP, out now.

The Foxgloves, “Maybelle”

I first heard The Foxgloves in the woods of Eau Claire, Wis., at Blue Ox Music Festival in 2021. I became an immediate fan of their acoustic music featuring a lineup of all female instrumentalists/vocalists — a rarity, especially in the bluegrass world. Their new music video for the single “Maybelle” features the gals performing at First Ave’s Mainroom opening for local old-timey music heroes Pert Near Sandstone, the very band that started Blue Ox in 2015.