Vern Matz - Minnesota Dancing

When I reached out to Vern Matz I really didn’t know what to expect. I couldn’t make any good guesses from the band‘s name, and the music sounded as if it could have been dug out of an old tape box or discovered on a lo-fi indie spotify playlist.

I will give it to you straight. These lo-hi-fi folksters apparently stand against brunch culture and all mimosa fueled hooliganism therein, which has admittedly been on the rise as of late. Daniel Belgrad is a Korean American confirmed penguin hater, and Michael Lituchy (apparently a cattle raising Taurus out of CT) joins him in existing as a musical entity known only as Vern Matz. the group recently released an album-product made consumable via wifi streaming, so we gathered our humble resources and took the plunge. Contained below are our various thoughts on the matter.

The lead off track “Pretty People” is an arid sounding folk ballad comprised mainly of acoustic guitar, voice, and bass. The song seems to deal with a bit of the digital burn out, that being some of the emptier feelings associated with living in a hi tech hyper connected world.

“Burnt Coffee” carries some of the same sonic philosophy as the former, in addition to what seems to be a heavier layer of reverb and a mix of electronic and acoustic drum sounds. The tracks dynamics work in somewhat of an interesting way as well, featuring three tiers of dynamic feel. The verse being that of the lowest, the chorus being the middle complete with electric guitar and swelling background vocals, and and instrumental post-chorus serving as the “high” point of the track. The track struck me as something a group like Counting Crows may have come up with had they sprung up out of the digital age.

“Second Step” draws from the same sound pool, but opens things up almost immediately for a layered aquatic sounding space. This track has an interesting characteristic that makes it almost more closely resemble a theme than a song, that being the fact that the song repeats mostly the same patterns throughout a wide range of dynamics. With the addition of enough small nuances, the idea never gets old though.

“Rabbit God” starts with an ethereal looped sound, before the acoustic guitar enters and sets the rhythm for the actual song. The lead vocals on the track probably have the most “out” sound heard thus far, featuring heavy amounts of reverb. This gives the track a sort of shoegaze or dream pop feel, which juxtapose with some alt-country vibes to create something that sounds fresher than either element on it’s own. While I feel that a bit of sloppiness is welcomed because of the record’s sonic stylings, I also think that the drum track is probably holding this track back just a tad in certain spots.

“Leuthe” serves as a swinging 6/8 in that classic teenage heartthrob style of the 50’s, with a bit of a sweet psychedelic pop twist. The track seems to deal with lost love and the feelings that result from situations of the like. Sometimes it’s easier or more comfortable to hide from these feelings a little bit, between the dark and light.

“Pallet Cleanser” is an instrumental soundscape recording that functions as it’s namesake. Utilizing backward recording techniques and various effects, the piece doesn’t even clock in at a minute. It does serve well as a quick break from the stream of songs and exists as an interesting enough avant-garde recording on it’s own.

“Mall of America” occupies a rhythm that hovers somewhere around 90 BPM with a soft bed of guitar and reverb. The feel of this track, as well as others reminds me a bit of Real Estate. Groups like these seem to be embodying some hazy, almost impressionist sound. Listening to reverb soaked music shrouded in mystery can be a bit like staring into a sonic oil painting. I would say that this is a positive development for rock music in general, and a solid sound for the group to use on this type of song.

“Earthbound” features some far out sounding vocals and a few spacious country sounds. On this one, I was thinking about a bit of a cross between The Flaming Lips and a group like Wilco. All of the extra embellishments on the instrumental gave the track character and provided for a richer atmosphere. Lyrically, I got some extraterrestrial vibes in the sense that some of the lyrics could be interpreted as an alien entity talking to and caring for a human boy/man/person. This however is not my most educated guess, and lyric is of course open to interpretation.

“Skyscrapers” is more in the vein of the alternative country found in earlier tracks. This one features a few odd time tricks that spice things up a bit on the back end of the record. The track is very competently made, but ultimately one of the less interesting tracks to my taste. People with significant country listening in their musical background will likely love this material though.

“Bush” is yet another song of the slower variety. Some “blue” chords are definitely featured in this piece, which is always welcome as a small pinch of drama in a song. The production on this song does get quite layered and borders on psychedelic, but to my personal taste this song suffers from a bit of the “slow fatigue” that the last one had on my end. Still, there is not much I could point to as being “bad” or “wrong”.

“Daydream” begins with kaleidoscopic wave of guitar and ambience before kicking into high gear with a much appreciated injection of energy. This is the classic uptempo album closer that serves as a payoff for a few slower songs in the back half of a record. Bordering on shoegaze territory, the mix is thick but also surprisingly clear and nuanced. There are some light keyboard melodies that serve as a little variety toward the middle, before the track eventually fades out to amp buzz, on brand with the rest of the record.

Sonically, Minnesota Dancing exists in that beautiful space between lo fi and heavily produced. There was a clear attempt at making a lush sounding record with many nuanced layers, as well as a special attention paid toward things sounding comfortable and homemade. The quality of the music never came into question, and my main criticism of the record was that the pace slowed down a bit too much for my taste in the back half. This is a tiny criticism in the grand scheme though, and I would readily offer my own recommendations to fans of indie rock music. Thus, Minnesota Dancing from Vern Matz earns a grade of ”Spin It Again”. Good job friends. Until next time.