Popcycle
Major Changes/Minor Chords
Popcyle, a Minneapolis melodic pop rock group, have a new seven track LP out right now. We aren’t familiar with their four previous albums, but Major Changes/Minor Chords features quality, straightforward Midwest songwriting that cannot do anything but help the burgeoning Minneapolis music scene continue its rise as a musical mecca.
They’re offering the new album in two formats, iTunes for cash or online for free. We recommend you purchase 4 of the 7 tracks through iTunes, then download the other 3 for free and call it even.
We sat down with the group to chat about their history, sound and upcoming gigs. Read on…
How long has the group been together?
Popcycle’s been around almost 10 years with varying players, including at one time, Pete Hofmann on bass.
What’s your backstory?
We’re local, started out more acoustic, now we have 5 guys and a bigger sound.
Describe your sound.
Our influences are Big Star, The Beatles, REM, the Band, the Stones and Kinks, etc. It’s a pop/rock thing with some country once in awhile.
What was the recording process like for Major Changes/Minor Chords?
We recorded in town at Crazy Beast Studio with Ben Durrant and it was very laid back and fun. Ben had a lot of great input. We recorded the 7 songs over the period of about a year.
What’s the theory behind giving your EP away for free?
Giving the EP away free is just a way to get (hopefully) more people to hear the music. Also, it seems more and more people are going online to find
their music, so we put it on our site and will tell everyone we see or
play for to go there and get the tunes. They’re also available for money
at itunes. And eventually we’ll do a “popcycle’s best” on the site, too.
What’s something so interesting about your group that everyone in Minneapolis should drop everything and check you out.
We sing 3-part harmonies and play songs that are a mix of serious/soul-searching and just plain catchy pop stuff. We also put on a good live show, the different personalities of the band members make for an interesting mix.
Other news/upcoming gigs?
We just played the Fringe kickoff party at the Varsity, and it went very well. We’re playing for the Wild River Festival in St. Paul at Station 4 on Saturday, Sept. 9.
