Episode 7 features brand new music from Winona blues-rockers Shoe Shop and Stillwater’s retro rock revivalists Ruben, in addition to top-notch tunes from Winona-based female-fronted indie-pop act Riflebird, Winona’s country-folk traditionalists The Beef Slough Boys, Duluth slow-core giants Low, Red Wing’s extremely promising young indie-rockers Seb’s Medicine, and former Rearview Mirror members’ odd-ball experimental studio collaboration Objective Subject.

Objective Subject is a musical collaboration between multi-instrumentalist Matt Olson and vocalist Adam Ptacek. Both men came of age together in a band called Rearview Mirror that, in the early years of this past decade, recorded an album with Grammy-award winning producer Steve Lillywhite and toured the nation with the likes of Days of the New and Live.

Olson and Ptacek were the creative core of RVM and the Objective Subject is a sonic experiment that builds upon the sound and chemistry they both spent years establishing. The Objective Subject’s unique style ties together synths, loops, recording tricks, and a diverse palette of guitar sounds with contemplative lyrics and songwriting skills that only come from experience.

Ptacek composes melodies & harmonies fit for an orchestra. Of course it is his vocal precision & execution–which is on-par with the professionals that play in orchestras–that bring his ideas life and allow the duo’s songs to flourish like some sort of intensely aware audio-ecstasy.

Their special chemistry is even more profound with one realizes that, for many of their songs, Olson writes, performs, and records the accompaniment–in its entirety–before Ptacek has a chance to hear it. His technical expertise sets up Ptacek’s melodic prowess by balancing engaging guitar work and sonic-filler with harmonic space and open-ended, non-linear song structures. Objective or subjective perception aside, the result is indeed magic.

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Objective Subject
“Wires”
Adjectives
Independent
2013

Ruben
“Ten Feet Outside”
The Orchard
Independent
2013

Beef Slough Boys
“The Coo Coo”
Gimme That Simple Life
Independent
2007

Riflebird
“Touch Me”
Digital Single
Independent
2012

Shoe Shop
“Lunch”
Shoe Shop
Independent
2013

Low
“Witches”
C’mon
Sub Pop
2011

Seb’s Medicine
“Take a Break”
Psycho-Semantics
Independent
2013

Theme Music:
Mike Munson
“Over Now”
Mike Munson
Independent
2013