Some say the internet killed the full-length album. But a trend I’ve been particularly fond of is the resurgence of the two-track digital 7″, a way of releasing music that hearkens back to the days when rock and pop acts would release singles on 45s —or, if you want to trace it all the way back,…

  The Wisconsin town where I grew up, about 70 miles south of Duluth, was small. Think “under-900-people-in-the-whole-town” small. The local music scene consisted of a handful of bands cobbled together from kids living in surrounding towns, who somehow seemed to find the same influential bands despite the nearest record store being 50 miles away…

  One of the best local albums of 2012 also happened to be one of the shortest, as Strange Names made their official debut last year with their immaculately produced four-song EP, Strange Names. The duo’s tight, punchy disco-pop caught the attention of the Twin Cities and landed them in last fall’s Picked to Click…

  City Pages music editor Reed Fischer stopped by the Current this morning to unveil the details for 10 Thousand Sounds, a brand-new downtown Minneapolis music festival that is scheduled for Saturday, June 22. The Minneapolis alt-weekly booked and organized the festival, which will be held in a parking lot at the intersection of 8th…

  See also: Audio and video from Low’s Current Session at the Fitz  Low are minimalists in every sense of the word. Every note, every rise and fall in dynamic, every snippet of between-song banter is intentional, and measured. It seems counter-intuitive to toss out too many adverbs about Low’s poignant show at the Fitzgerald Theater on…

  Happy Friday! Count down the final hours of your work-week and ease into the weekend with this fresh batch of homespun music videos. And if you’re still making plans for the weekend, consult our Local Gig List—there are CD-release shows aplenty happening tonight and tomorrow night in the Twin Cities.   Botzy Botzy, a.k.a.…

  Frankie Lee is about as Midwestern as they come. When we meet up for our interview in St. Paul’s historic Cathedral Hill neighborhood, he’s wrapped in a brightly colored plaid wool jacket, a knit cap pulled over his blonde hair and a winter beard covering half his boyish face. He speaks in the opposite…

Local Radar highlights bands that the local team at The Current is spinning heavily at their desks. You’ll be able to preview a track from each as well as hear them on The Local Show and Local Current. Strange Relations One of my bands to watch is still considered a newbie to most local music lovers. Strange Relations…

  The 12th annual Independent Music Awards—an international program aimed at honoring “exceptional independent artists traditionally ignored by mainstream media and big box retailers”—has announced its nominees for over 80 categories of awards. Among the nominees? Minneapolis power-pop quartet Sleep Study, and last year’s locally grown tribute compilation Minnesota Remembers Vic Chesnutt. I’ll admit, I…

  Gloss are the type of young band that you just can’t help but root for. The emerging Minneapolis group features five affable musicians who are enjoying each and every exhilarating moment that comes with being a new group on the rise. The jangly, infectious guitar sounds layered throughout Gloss’s breezy debut single, “Front Porch,”…