The (Local) Fresh Five: Finesse, In Lieu, Huhroon, Lana Leone, and Unstable Shapes

For the Fresh Five we pick out five great new(ish) jams that we’re currently obsessing over. All of these songs come from local (Minnesota) bands/artists.

Local duo Finesse (Jeff Cornell and Patrick Donohoe) haven’t recorded a ton of music in the last 8 or so odd years they have been around, but when they have committed songs to tape they have been consistently excellent. They will release a (highly anticipated) album Stay True in March and recently put out the second single off it “Without U.” The new single continues the band’s glossy, 80’s throwback vibes and layers in an R&B element that recalls the vaunted “Minneapolis sound.”  The release show will take place on 3/1 at the Uptown VFW and has an absolutely stacked lineup (details). 

In Lieu are a four piece grunge/punk band that have been on the scene for a number of years, not so quietly making waves in the local punk scene. I don’t know (and can’t find) a great  deal of information about them but they released a new EP Just Devastated earlier this month featuring this terrific pulverizing single “Uh Oh.” 

Huhroon is a Minneapolis artist that produces experimental pop. Their recorded works run quite a spectrum from trap/rap to rock. While its a couple years old, you can check out “Peppermynt,” a mix of impassioned autoned vocals, guitar riffs, and kind of a hazy/dreamy production that suits it well. Huhroon will perform at the album release show for celebrated local band Early Eyes’ upcoming album release. The whole lineup looks great. More details/tix here.

Lana Leone is a local singer/songwriter with a kind of shoegazy rock sound and introspective lyricism. Her most recent EP Meadowlark (2023) is great, especially the song “Hideaway,” a melancholy rumination featuring terrific vocals and a healthy dose of guitar fuzz. 

Unstable Shapes are a five piece band that met at a Massive Attack show. Trip hop doesn’t really register in their music if its an influence though – they trade heavily in post-punk signifiers.  New single “Local Sphinx” is full of angular guitar and vocals that skip between a kind of deadpan almost spoken word variety as well as impassioned screams. Unstable Shapes will release a full length sometime this year (TBD) so keep an eye on them on their website.