Minot Premiere Their Relentless Record, ‘Down & Out at the Thunderbird’

In an era when there isn’t much to differentiate modern punk bands, Minot firmly stands out from the rest of the pack. A couple of dozen seconds into “Scarecrow,” the opening track on the band’s new album, you’ll start to get what we’re talking about. The Missoula, Montana trio returns today with the premiere of their new LP, Down & Out, at the Thunderbird. Set for formal release on October 2nd via DragBunt Records, the album takes a relentless approach.

Featuring twelve new tracks, this is the band’s third proper studio album. The approach is simple: fast-moving, sonically raw tracks that get right down to business. The album draws heavily on ’60s garage rock, classic punk, and modern pop influences. The rudimentary approach, though, shouldn’t be mistaken for simplicity. Minot masterfully shows how you can take the fundamentals of rock and punk and do something with them to make them sound entirely original.

Describing the album, the band states:

“Garage punk wrapped in a hot dog bun, steamed to perfection and served to people with short attention spans that don’t have anything else better to do on a Friday night. It’s going to be like the seventh time you ever heard music in your life; you won’t be able to remember when it happened, but you’ll be damn glad you listened to it while doing laundry.”

Minot, photo by Donal Lakatua

The album harkens back to an era when music was recorded cheaply and produced even more cheaply. No fancy studio trickery or bells and whistles. It’s raw, balls-to-the-wall lo-fi garage punk that would sound cool in any time period it was released. The rawness and the energy the band exemplifies are exactly what punk rock was always meant to be about. There is a strong spirit in not just each song, but each note. The lo-fi approach also doesn’t detract from the music’s energy. It’s an impressive accomplishment, considering the trio’s musical roots don’t go back very far. Two of the three members had never even picked up a musical instrument until the end of 2023. Now they have come so far that the members routinely switch instruments depending on the song.

Like so many punk bands who came before them, Minot prove that heart, desire, and passion mean much more than being a group of sonic virtuosos who have been playing music since they could crawl.

Tour Dates:

Oct 2 – Vinyl release show, Coeur d’Alene, ID (w/ Black Lodge, Billy Caveman & Bailey Allen Baker)
Oct 3 – Vinyl release show, Missoula, MT (M80 Chicken w/ Flesh Hunks, Squishes & The Wow Wows)
Oct 17 – Bozeman, MT – The Labor Temple (w/ Tiny Iota & At Nadir)

Minot, photo by Donal Lakatua