Introducing: The Desert Vest

The Desert Vast have a sound that harkens back to a period, say 1993, almost immediately upon pressing play. The guitars crunch, the vocals are warbly and pained (but high in the mix), and the drumsticks venture to the cymbals early and often. They aren’t afraid to call themselves “grunge” and take that mantle to the tilt, with all baggage that comes along with that label. With the “Minneapolis sound” skewing more towards hip hop and electronic tinged music, their new record Hey What, their second, stands out from the crowd as a record that mines a sound that isn’t referenced nearly as much as it once was in the Twin Cities. The term “alt rock” is kind like saying something is “indie”(i.e it means a million things to a million people), but if I had to define what I thought “Alt-Rock” sounded like, I could do worse than referencing The Desert Vest. The band are releasing a new record Hey What with a record release show tonight at Cause in Uptown. You can stream the album below and if you like it, buy a copy from their bandcamp page or grab one at the show.

josh keller

Writer / co-founder