Minnesota Playlist: November Tracks Eight Local Acts Worth Repeating

Chutes release their new EP Brighter than Before on Nov. 13, and their track "Trace" leads this month's roundup of new Minnesota music. The monthly column, curated by Nick Greseth, rounds up the local releases on repeat, with a companion Spotify playlist tracking new music from the state.

What does the November list actually offer? Eight tracks spanning indie rock, dance-pop, folk, dream pop, country and alt-rock — reviewed by contributors Youa Vang and Peter Diamond. Here's the breakdown.

Chutes — "Trace"

Vang hears "indie rock in its purest, most essential form — a track built on muscular dynamics, ringing guitars, and an effortless sense of nervous energy." The song channels mid-2000s college radio staples, balancing a sharp rhythm section with weathered vocal melodies. The unpolished production, Vang writes, "lets the instruments breathe, capturing the urgency of a basement session while landing a hook that stays in your teeth." The EP Brighter than Before arrives Nov. 13.

Nick Greseth (artist feature) — Coming of Age

Peter Diamond describes Coming of Age, the debut album by the Owatonna-born, Los Angeles-based artist, as "an invitation to get on the dance floor." The opening track trades in '80s glam, reminiscent of something Jam and Lewis would have produced for Janet Jackson. Diamond adds a local wish: "Here's hoping we get a homecoming show soon."

The Penny Peaches and Anna Devine — "Bury Me Beneath the Willow Tree"

The duo takes on a century-old folk standard. Vang argues it takes "a precise warmth" to make such a song "feel alive rather than preserved" — and that the collaboration nails it. The track recalls T Bone Burnett's O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, specifically the vocal pairing of Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss. Close-knit harmonies sit over unadorned picking; the restraint lets the melody carry its grief.

Mother Soki — "Mussel"

The Minneapolis-based artist Mother Soki releases her EP Act 2 on Nov. 19. Diamond calls "Mussel" "like a siren's call beckoning the listener from the ocean" — a Cocteau Twins-influenced entry point into her dream-pop sound.

Brooklyn Marie — "Tired"

"Tired" builds on a spacious, slow-burning indie-pop blueprint and turns exhaustion into the focal point. Vang notes the track "wallows cleanly in its burnout," balancing a delicate folk sensibility with a steady pop pulse — an exercise in atmospheric fatigue that "knows exactly when to stay still and let the silence do the work."

Clayton Ryan — "Gas Station Social Club"

The country rocker's debut album and its titular track celebrate the "one place everybody's bound to be, letting in all kinds of folks" — where, Diamond writes, "the skateboarding stoners and cowboys live in harmony." The song lays out Ryan's unified vision for midwestern country music.

Preston Hodek — "Laundry"

Framed around household routine, "Laundry" uses everyday chores as a backdrop for quiet heartbreak. The anchor is Hodek's "rasp-tinged voice — a gravel-edged instrument" that carries the weight of a relationship unraveling in real time. Vang praises the arrangement for giving that raw texture "total authority."

Callback — "Mine"

"Mine" captures the moment desire turns reckless. Vang describes a hook "demanding to be ruined slow while barreling 120 mph down the highway," with a polished melodic edge and a raw, desperate current underneath — an alternative-rock rush built on nocturnal tension.

The two dates to mark: Chutes' Brighter than Before on Nov. 13 and Mother Soki's Act 2 on Nov. 19. Both releases suggest the state's scene is stretching from basement grit toward fuller statements this winter.