10 Twin Cities acts you should hear now | Metromix Twin Cities

10 Twin Cities acts you should hear nowpick

By Rob Van Alstyne

April 8, 2008

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With everyone under the sun venturing into home-recording and posting the results on their MySpace page, the line that separates amateurs from professionals has never been finer.  And for listeners of local music, that's both good and bad—there’s never been more exciting, high quality original music percolating out of the Cities, and listeners also never had to wade through as much garbage to hear it.

But don't be deterred, Metromix is here to the rescue with the inside scoop on 10 Twin Cities acts you need to hear right now.

Cataldo

Cataldo

Sure, you’ve heard heart-on-sleeve-sad-sack-folk-rock a thousand times before, but has it ever been dressed up this pretty? On Cataldo’s sophomore album Signal Flare, the sound of a sighing heart is tethered to joyous banjos, raucous group sing alongs and alarmingly catchy melodies. Being down-hearted has never felt so good.

M.anifest

M.anifest

Who’d a thunk it? Afro-centric hip-hop from the heart of the Deuce Cities courtesy of a Ghanian-turned-Minneapolitan MC who’s just as deft rocking the mic with message rap lyrics as he is getting the party started when rhyming atop his jazz inflected early ’90s indebted backing tracks.

White Light Riot

White Light Riot

Every scene needs its rock stars, and Minneapolis has its own in White Light Riot. Although they're little known on the national level, if you witness the group's near-Oasis-level swagger at a packed and sweaty club in Minneapolis or St. Paul, you’ll have little doubt these Brit-rock loving boys have a future date with the top of the Billboard charts.

Kid Dakota

Kid Dakota

Even dark nights of the soul need a soundtrack, and Kid Dakota’s here to provide it with their latest emotional-bummer-musical-stunner hybrid, A Winner’s Shadow. Front man Darren Jackson’s velvety croon may be pretty, but the stories of tweaked out junkies and lost souls he spins are anything but.

Ela

Ela

Take a set of prickly post-rock guitarists and pair them with the lithe rhythm section of a live hip-hop band and what do you have? The unique charms of local quartet Ela, they’ve mounted high profile national tours opening up for indie heavyweights like Minus the Bear and Say Anything but remain something of an undiscovered gem on their home turf.

The Parlour Suite

The Parlour Suite

Minnesota’s addition to the O Brother Where Are Thou? school of old-timey folk, the Parlour Suite’s key ingredients, tightly intertwined three part harmonies, foot stomps and hand claps, never go out of style, especially when delivered with such obvious relish from the stage.

The Glad Version

The Glad Version

While West Coast acts like Death Cab for Cutie rode the formula of crooning front man paired with vaguely indie-pop hooks to headlining status, such commercial accolades have thus far eluded Minneapolis outfit the Glad Version. This is a flat out crime considering the level of polish and quality evident on the band’s latest release, Make Islands, easily the equal of anything in Death Cab’s catalog.

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