Cloud Nothings
With their Steve Albini-produced sophomore album in tow, the Cloud Nothings should appeal to Twin Cities music hipsters of decades past as much as the blog-educated kids already into the quartet. The Cleveland rockers — kids themselves, in their early 20s — boast a crumbling-wall-of-noise, two-guitar sound wrapped around scrappy punk melodies, sort of an unlikely blend of Fugazi, Trail of Dead, the Descendents and, yep, a little Replacements. Even with Albini helping, the group has yet to come off as powerfully on record as they do on stage. Highly recommended, especially with local favorites Bloodnstuff adding to the noise level. Chomp also opens. Chris Riemenschneider