Minneapolis punk rockers SCRUNCHIES have just dropped their new single “High Pile,” a reflective track that captures the chaos and sorrow of a world on fire. It’s a siren call for everyone feeling the weight of environmental and social injustices. But SCRUNCHIES aren’t just about their own stuff. Vocalist and guitarist Laura Larson, a veteran of the Minneapolis DIY scene, teamed up with us to share a glimpse into the vibrant and resilient community through a special scene report, offered by a number of local bands below.
This new SCRUNCHIES single is a teaser for their upcoming album Colossal, set to release on August 23rd through Learning Curve Records.
Recorded and mixed by the legendary Steve Albini at Electrical Audio, the album promises to deliver the same post-riot grrrl punch that has put SCRUNCHIES in the same breath as bands like MANNEQUIN PUSSY, SCREAMING FEMALES, and SLEATER-KINNEY.
With their music video for “High Pile” streaming now, and a US tour kicking off soon, SCRUNCHIES are here to remind us why punk is as relevant as ever.
In a special feature below, Larson highlights not just her band, but the local scene that’s bursting with creativity and solidarity. She introduces us to a lineup of Minneapolis acts that are pushing boundaries and making noise in all the right ways.
In this scene report, you’ll hear directly from the likes of BOOBLESS, SELFISH TEAMMATE, ANITA VELVEETA, and E.T, each band also brings their own favorites into the spotlight, turning this piece into a deep dive into a scene that’s constantly evolving, always inspiring.
Minneapolis Scene Report
“We wanted to shout out a small handful of the local bands we are currently admiring and give them an opportunity to talk about the music scene here in their own words.” – says Laura Larson of Scrunchies.
“All of these bands contribute invaluably not just to the music scene in Minneapolis, but the artistic, activist, performance, and other creative and community-oriented scenes in the Twin Cities. We asked them about THEIR favorite Minneapolis acts, and what they love about it here!”
“We also want to recognize that this week marks a year since the shooting at Minneapolis punk show house Nudieland.” – adds Laura.
“We want to send so much love to the folks and our friends that were and continue to be impacted by that event. The Minneapolis queer/punk scene is a strong and resilient community and we are holding space in our hearts for August, for Caitlin, and for everyone who experienced that tragedy.”
BOOBLESS
Boobless are a four-piece band of Minneapolis superstars. Their fun, bouncy, irreverent songs will get stuck in your head in the best way. Laura from Scrunchies had the honor of singing backups on a song off of their new album which is coming out the same time we are releasing Colossal!
What’s your name/pronouns, and what bands are you currently in?
Meyer H. Meyer- they/them
Tryste Mx- they/them
Ollie Lum – they/them
Jo Kellen – they/them (also in Products Band and many more!)
Where can people find your music?
BOOBLESS.bandcamp.com . Instagram @boob.less
What do you appreciate about the music scene in Minneapolis?
There are always so many new bands and artists to discover, there are shows every night, and we are lucky to be the home of UnderCurrentMPLS (https://www.youtube.com/@UnderCurrentMPLS)- a group of people that document the scene.
What are some bands in Minneapolis you love right now?
Products Band – our current drummer Jo’s main project.
E.T. – alien anarchist electropunks
Zora – rap and pop superstar
Miami Dolphins – local legends
Anything else you want to mention?
We are releasing our first EP, Second Puberty, on Aug 24, 2024! Also we want to thank our current drummer, Jo, for their amazing contributions over the years. They will no longer be in BOOBLESS after our release show to focus on other things. We’re excited to land on a new drummer and continue working on a long list of new songs.
SELFISH TEAMMATE
It’s the brainchild of Sage, local activist, writer, creator, and one of the funniest people we know.
What’s your name/pronouns, and what bands are you currently in? Where can people find your music?
I’m Sage (she/he) and I’m the lyricist, beat maker, and sing-yeller in Selfish Teammate! We’re a poetry punk band out of Minneapolis, MN.
Selfish Teammate is me and my vintage Roland, as well as Daniel Hughes (friend and prolific musician) playing very heavy distortion guitar. Though we are currently undergoing a lineup change and Aliona Johnson is slowly but surely stepping in to shred. Hard. Right now we’re in the middle of home recording an EP which I hope will be out in the world come fall. But in the meantime you can follow the band and incidentally my personal life via @selfishteammate on Instagram!
What do you appreciate about the music scene in Minneapolis?
I have a very love-hate relationship with Minneapolis despite having lived here for upwards of five years now. Which is a long way of saying that I don’t think I could do My Thing anywhere else. I have so much creative control here and that’s also allowed me to work with some real life human geniuses who also have very specific interests as artists. So I think Minneapolis specifically allows me to be very ambitious while also remaining fairly niche. I don’t really care about being widely appealing or relatable, and I think a pro of Minneapolis’ size is that once you do find your audience, people become very dedicated and supportive. So there’s also an element of interest and care that I don’t think you’d get if you were just running around New York or LA.
What are some bands in Minneapolis you love right now?
This next part is so hard. Partially because I want to be able to name some faves and then boom, the playing field for marginalized musicians is leveled. But that’s just not how it works so I’ll cope for the moment. I’ll also invariably miss a band that very obviously deserves to be mentioned, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.
McVicker are my favorite type of punk band in the sense that they all look like very amicable, reasonable people (which they are) who you wouldn’t expect to play the kind of absolute sound barrier busting music they do. I’m really interested in musicians who are also aesthetes to certain degrees.
And that’s part of why I really love Riotgrrrldarko. She’s got the Y2K Hot Topic mall babe vibe, but she’s also writing bars over instrumentals that start mosh pits.
Carnage The Executioner is hypnotizing to me. He’s making his beat and building on it live using beatboxing and pedals. Last July I booked him to play a residency night for my old band Egg Girl Girl, and I was so in awe I remember being glad we weren’t playing that night.
Products Band is such a Minneapolis legend band to me (in the way that Scrunchies are) where I considered not mentioning them because it felt so obvious. I remember seeing them play a basement in St. Paul when I first moved here, and now they have this big record out and, in an albeit mostly parasocial way, I feel so proud of them. Big personalities and big sound all finely tuned.
I also wanna mention Tomboyy. We played with them back in the spring and they played this country cover of ‘That’s Amore’, which was an absolutely sicko choice. The singer, Sarah Yribar, has such a big voice and I was very struck by them overall.
Anything else you want to mention?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means for art to find its audience. And I’m so grateful for the people who see what I do and resonate with it. I’m also seeing, particularly in hardcore, trans women fucking kicking and screaming both metaphorically and literally. And I love that local ruckus. I feel really strongly that artists especially have an obligation to voice and enact solidarity whenever possible, so it’s free Palestine and fuck the police always. Much love to sex workers and addicts, to the people with a case or a record, and to all the gay degenerates out there. It’s all for you!
ANITA VELVEETA
This band is swiftly becoming iconic in the Twin Cities music scene for creating shapeshifting music and being a community pillar.
What’s your name/pronouns, and what bands are you currently in?
Anita Bauer (she/her)
Tell us about your music and where people can find it!
Anita Velveeta started out as a covid side project. I had spent my stimulus money on a synthesizer and began making little video game soundtracks that would eventually turn into my first album. Once shows started picking back up and the project had gotten some more attention it became my main project and then my only project. With Anita Velveeta I try to make music that is never pigeonholed by any genre or sound. Anytime people start to describe me as a certain sound I know it’s time to change things up.
My music can be found on all major streaming platforms. Just search Anita Velveeta. (Like the cheese)
What do you appreciate about the music scene in Minneapolis?
As someone who has toured across the country the thing that makes the Minneapolis scene unique is the sense of community. The Twin Cities is not a very big place, there’s like 15 venues to play at, so naturally everyone kinda just knows each other. The lack of options combined with the passion people here have for their music scene results in one that is always existing in some shape or form.
In NYC or LA there are so many bands and venues that there isn’t a lot of crossover. Things are so in their own bubble over there that even the punk scene is actually 8 different scenes that all hate each other. In Minneapolis there’s so few of us that we all, somewhat begrudgingly at times, have to get along together. This scarcity leads to more mixed genre bills, which then leads to newer musicians being inspired by different sounds, which eventually leads to more creative musicians.
What are some bands in Minneapolis you love right now?
Riotgrrldarko– An amazing blend of hyperpop, hiphop, and punk. If you’ve never seen twerking in a mosh pit before just go to one of her shows.
Melanerpes – One of the younger bands in the scene right now, watching them improve with each show has been so fun to watch. Their passion for what they do reignited something in me. I think its easy to get depressed in the music industry but Melanerpes really reminded me why I fell in love with music.
Fend – Somewhat biased because I share a guitarist with them but Fend is the real fucking deal. Basically a local music supergroup these four amazing musicians are going to release the album of the year in September mark my words.
Bejalvin – Truly one of a kind. Not just at a local level but at a national level, a global level, a historic level. Incredibly forward thinking music that combines dubstep with grindcore and while they could be pretentious for inventing a new style of music that is so out there, they aren’t. They have a goofy, campy presence that pairs so nicely with the mind melting music they make.
Killusonline – I have no idea why this band hasn’t blown up yet. Mixing metal core and hip hop Killusonline is just another great example of progressive music from our sleepy fly over state.
Slut Intent – Hardcore is really at its best when it’s made by women and Slut Intent is the perfect example of that. In a genre that is filled with a bunch of chuds with heads that look like thumbs Slut Intent is playing louder, faster, and with more aggression than any bro-core band out there. Slut Intent for ever.
Anything else you want to mention?
Twin Cities Style.
E.T.
E.T. are creating freaky queer electro-punk that feels visceral, spooky, and consuming in the absolute best way.
Amazing live shows and they make the world’s best band stickers.
What’s your name/pronouns, and what bands are you currently in?
E Regardless: none/they, vocals in E.T.
Tessa Late: they/she, synths & beats in E.T., also in crypt.ID
Where can people find your music?
Tessa Late: In person first, also everything is free on Bandcamp (e-t-music.bandcamp.com) and I guess we’re on Spotify and YouTube.
What do you appreciate about the music scene in Minneapolis?
Tessa Late: A lot of the goth and queer kids are very posi, in general.
E Regardless: And specifically towards us. We’ve found so much support and excitement for our music, which originally was just a form of creative catharsis for ourselves.
Tessa Late: Yeah, there’s definitely some gems of human beings here.
What are 3-5 bands in Minneapolis you love right now?
E Regardless: Color in Reverse is a really genuine, lovely human who has been playing and curating Neon Nights, which is largely about making space for BIPOC electronic artists.
Intercourse is who we view as our sibling Minneapolis band because they make sexy shit sound gross, while we try to make gross shit sound sexy.
Burning also melts my face and rearranges all my atoms everytime I see them.
Tessa Late: Virginia’s Basement, for doing a lot of DIY stuff that also involves synths.
O-buh is a sweetheart and they haven’t been around long but they command a lot of attention when they play and have a sick use of lava lamps.
Anything else you want to mention?
Tessa Late: You can do your own thing and make it up and it’s okay, you’re allowed to be a weirdo. You GOTTA be a weirdo.
E Regardless: As an Indigequeer anti-capitalist, I really want to encourage people to reject the professionalization of music and embrace a DIY punk ethos. We don’t need tour managers and record labels and all that, we can and MUST do these things ourselves.
Tessa Late: Sometimes, as trans people, we’re all we got.
Scrunchies will embark on a US tour in late summer:
Aug 31 – Chicago, IL @ Liar’s Club
Sep 1 – Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub
Sep 2 – Dayton, OH @ Blind Rage Records
Sep 3 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Roboto Project
Sep 4 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
Sep 5 – Washington, DC @ Slash Run
Sep 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ God’s Auto Body
Sep 7 – Richmond, VA @ Garden Grove
Sep 8 – Asheville, NC @ 27 Club
Sep 9 – Louisville, KY @ Portal
Sep 10 – Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone
Sep 11 – St Louis, MO @ Sink Hole
Sep 12 – Kansas City, MO @ Howdy
Sep 20 – Madison, WI @ Gamma Ray
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