As always, this year saw a lot of remarkable music come out of Minnesota, and you probably didn’t catch all of it. We’ve rounded up 10 local albums released in 2019 that you should definitely queue up. Find all these albums on our Spotify playlist, and tune in to our Local Current stream to be the first to hear the essential Minnesota releases of 2020.

Charlie Parr: Charlie Parr

The album art for Charlie Parr’s self-titled record is a precise visual portrayal of the stream of string-picking and storytelling you’re about to sink into. It’s a loose sketch, not hemmed and hawed over. Anyone familiar with Parr’s discography will know this isn’t new territory for the Duluth-based artist. He returns to us steeped in his greatest songwriting strength: familial warmth. His tales of hounds and booze and falling out of trees gently pull us in like shared embraces between reunited loved ones on Thanksgiving. The record doesn’t demand anything but a few moments of our quiet attention, and it’s well worth the time. (Jesse Wiza)

Remo Drive: Natural, Everyday Degradation

Remo Drive are doing the Lord’s work. On a steamy summer evening in July, brothers Erik and Stephen Paulson achieved what many acts only dream of with a Minnesota audience: they coerced them into actually dancing. Pushing tightly against the stage, hundreds of fans belted along to the energetic set as they thrashed through a lineup of pop-punk gems. The band signed to Epitaph Records in 2018, and Natural, Everyday Degradation satiates an emo-revivalist’s craving for someone to admit that, no, everything is not okay, but we’ll shred in our parents’ Bloomington basement and try to find some joy in the everyday. (Jesse Wiza)

Lady Midnight: Death Before Mourning

Like a homemade batch of mole poblano, Lady Midnight’s Death Before Mourning has a little bit of everything. Her song “P((o))WR” — a sweet, smooth ode to strong women — melts into bitter vocal processing on “PRTN CTRL pt. 1.” Production assists from MMYYKK, Ziyad, Medium Zach, and others unite like spice rack soulmates. And the album is not without some heat. The jazzy “Catorce” cranks out smoke, while “Fake News” fires off a frenzied, pitched-down summons to the Yoruba goddess Oyá. This release is nuanced, labor-intensive — having taken Lady Midnight five years to make — and altogether one of the best albums of the year. (Cecilia Johnson)

Nur-D: Songs About Stuff

Winner of this year’s City Pages Picked to Click poll, Nur-D has paved a quick and powerful path in the hip-hop scene. Rapping only since February 2018, Nur-D started out by winning four consecutive “Shut Up and Rap” contests, which led to an invite to perform at Soundset only three months later. Songs About Stuff is Nur-D’s sophomore album and explores a variety of different deep personal topics that include personal trauma, break-ups, toxic masculinity, body positivity, and race, all flavored with Nur-D’s self-proclaimed geek-culture style. (Marla Khan-Schwartz)

26 BATS!: Onyx

The sophomore album from 26 BATS! isn’t just a collection of songs — it’s a meditation on change, healing, and personal growth. Named for the black stone that wards off negative energy, Onyx blends fierce guitar arpeggios, lyrical trumpet lines, and Bailey Cogan’s expressive vocals into 26 BATS!’s signature slippery sound. The album is 26 BATS! at their most confident. Each song changes color when held to the light; the band leaps through key signatures with ease and confronts grief with 26 minutes of magic. (Colleen Cowie)

Humbird: Pharmakon

After traveling the North Sea to study Nordic and Gaelic folk narratives, Siri Undlin returned to the Midwest to blow dust off the old stories by imbuing them with her own experiences. As Humbird, Undlin manages to bend time backwards and forwards at once. In the melodic Americana and jazz-influenced tracks that comprise her debut album — engineered and mixed by Brian Joseph (Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens) and produced by Shane Leonard (Field Report) — Eve exits Eden and laments modern life in America, Persephone is conjured to reckon with a loss of innocence, and thousands of years are woven together as smoothly as the cycle of the seasons. (Lydia Moran)

Velvet Negroni: Neon Brown

Jeremy Nutzman has worked on various projects over the years under different monikers, but not until he released Neon Brown as Velvet Negroni did he finally feel rooted. Leading up to the album release, Negroni not only spent time recording with Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and opening for Tame Impala but became recognized through Kanye West’s collaboration with Kid Cudi, when West used Negroni’s “Waves” as part of “Kids See Ghosts.” Negroni’s album is a combination of chill with funky and psychedelic beats, sprinkled with dub and synth. The album is passionately poetic and gives us a sense that Velvet Negroni has a lot to say — leaving listeners craving even more of his chill, cathartic music. (Marla Khan-Schwartz)

Last Import: Last Import

We hear Last Import loud and clear. The punchy rock trio — guitarist Emily Bjorke, bassist Grace Baldwin, and drummer Jane Halldorson — dropped their first studio album this year, mixing joy, surf-pop, and Strokes-esque guitar riffs into their strongest project yet. Bjorke’s lead vocals are filled with impressive runs and yells (listen to “Money” and “Per Aspera Ad Astra”), while Baldwin and Halldorson are rock-solid on their instruments. On a larger scale, Last Import is a testament to the youth-oriented Twin Cities organizations that have supported the band in one way or another, especially music camp She Rock She Rock and all-ages Burnsville venue The Garage. (Cecilia Johnson)

Dua Saleh: Nūr

Dua Saleh’s breakout EP Nūr opens with the metronome beat that introduces “Sugar Mama,” a minimalist slow jam so funky-sexy that it could make even “Darling Nikki” break into a sweat. The Sudan-born, Rondo-raised rapper/singer worked with producer Psymun (thestand4rd, Dizzy Fae, Bon Iver) on this five-song release that also features Velvet Negroni on the track, “Survival.” The EP garnered national attention — although even Pitchfork admitted you have to see Saleh live to properly appreciate the power of their voice (Saleh identifies as non-binary). For all its sultry, stormy sonic power, Nūr also rewards close listens with witty wordplay that evidences Saleh’s sure sense of humor. “I laugh a lot at things in life that happen,” Saleh told The Current’s Cecilia Johnson in an interview about Nūr. “But that’s not the only way to expel your feelings.” (Jay Gabler)

Sass: Chew Toy

Minneapolis power pop band Sass write sugary pop with a sharp bite. Singer/guitarist Stephanie Jo Murck leads listeners into her songs with plunky, confident guitar riffs — but in the blink of an eye, melodies that start out sweet can mutate into something more gnarly and dissonant. The full-length album from Sass is a dynamic debut from an experienced group of musicians who have lent their talents to the bands Tony Peachka, Tights, and Scrunchies. Chew Toy chomps onto topics like desire, toxic relationships, and self-image, throttling them in its teeth. (Colleen Cowie)

This article was produced as a part of a collaboration between The Current and The Growler, a monthly craft beer lifestyle magazine covering the best stories in beer, food, and culture. Find this article online and in print in the December edition of The Growler.