Local Radar highlights bands that the local team at The Current is spinning heavily at their desks. You'll be able to preview a track from each as well as hear them on The Local Show and Local Current.

Part Mammal
It’s a good thing that Elliott Snyder decided his high school recording moniker was worthy enough to revisit. About a year ago, he brought in a live band to re-record some long-stewing ideas, creating in the process a stunning mash-up of Tame Impala’s psychedelic prog-rock and the shoegazey neurosis that Deerhunter has nailed down. The long list of co-conspirators on this album is impressive: Nick Olson, Sean Tobin of Lungs, Jesse Schuster of Caroline Smith and Lucy Michelle, Andrew Jansen of Dial-Up, Crimes and A Paper Cup Band and lastly Hollow Boys’ Ali Jaafar at the engineering helm.

Standout track “Exploring Time Split” explodes into a faint haze until Schuster’s awesome bassline materializes and creates the mood for the next five minutes. Sometimes a band has an undeniable chemistry – things just click, ideas flow effortlessly. But it’s even more exciting to see musicians who are able to adapt a solo artist’s work into a full-band arrangement like they do on this song. Such is the case with Part Mammal, Snyder’s brainchild, and something he should not be giving up anytime soon. You can add this to the list of impressive local debuts in 2012. They’ll be playing Wild Tymes for a free, all-ages show featuring Felsen, Batteryboy, Hillary Howard Band and Pine Deluxe.

Stream: Part Mammal - "Exploring Time Split" from Return To Lucky Star out now

Deimos Phobos
Here’s a very DIY effort from Elliott Etzkorn over at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. Born in South Africa and later a Minneapolis transplant, he’s currently in school across the border but intends on coming back, which makes him still essentially a Minnesota artist, right? Or… at least I want him to be because “Jovian” is something that we shouldn’t pass over. It’s a soaring, atypically constructed pop jam at its heart, rooted in Etzkorn’s classical and jazz piano training. On the surface, it’s just gorgeous, the result of dozens of parts flowing effortlessly together. But listen a little harder and hear just how complex the song is; compositions like this are continuing to impress me as Minnesota musicians increasingly move toward challenging rhythms and instrumentation. Things that we think wouldn’t work really do, and people like Etzkorn are leading that movement. Add in the surprise we get halfway through this song – the emerging vocals of his two friends (recorded in his dorm room as a sidenote) – and the track totally changes gears. He gives the spotlight to every part at some point, committing himself to equal treatment. It’s a moving sentiment and substantiates Etzkorn’s mature craft.

Stream: Deimos Phobos - "Jovian" from Leisure out now 

Wolf Mountain
Because I am a sucker for dirty, lo-fi garage rock, props are in order to Wolf Mountain, a six-piece out of Hopkins that looks way too young to have this style of music nailed down. So if this band is indeed in high school or prepping for college, no matter: this stuff is golden. Harnessing Ty Segall’s penchant for incomprehensible vocals, their newest EP is at once a Nuggets-inspired release and yet one that also utilizes ‘60s pop tinges to bring things together. A Facebook post notes that new music is on the docket, welcomed news considering this EP is apparently from last August. Information is scarce so an investigation is in order, but we’re excited to amp the fuzz level to 11 when we spin this song on The Local Show this weekend.

Stream: Wolf Mountain - "Grandfather" from Under The Lake EP available now