Pennyroyal

The singer-songwriters of Pennyroyal, Angie Oase and Ethan Rutherford, came together in a most romantic style. Oase, from North Dakota, and Rutherford, from Seattle by way of NYC, came to meet by wonderful chance when Rutherford stepped into a Minneapolis coffeeshop and heard his own song being performed. Oase had been covering Rutherford's songs (from a demo CD passed from friend to sister to college roommate) as part of her solo shows. Ethan and Angie teamed up, but after a few months playing together, they disbanded when Oase struck out to California for a year to discover how lame California actually is and to write and record a 7" solo record. Upon her return, she and Ethan picked up where they left off, recruiting metal bass player William Hoben and prog-rock drummer Jake Mohan from the local deli where Rutherford worked, of all places.

When they joined forces, the quartet alchemized influences collaging over classic rock, country, blues, drone, disco, and Americana, to create a raw and moody brand of indie rock. A Minneapolis culture blog Secrets of The City, raved: "Like a highly evolved, adaptive beast of music, Pennyroyal puts a glam spin on the rock ‘n blues sound ... you'll detect the terrifying genius powering lead singer Angie Oase’s at once ethereal and guttural vocals." Pennyroyal was labeled "the best band you've never heard" by Star-Tribune music critic Chris Riemenschneider, and its 2011 debut album (SAD FACE / GLAD FACE) and 2012 EP (PLACES) were claimed as best albums by Star Tribune/Vita.MN and Hymie's Vintage Records, respectively.

BABY I'M AGAINST IT, the band's sophomore album, was produced by Ed Ackerson (BNLX, Polara) at Flower Studios in Uptown Minneapolis, and represents a huge leap forward in terms of songwriting and sonic ambition. Both struggling with breakups of various kinds in their own distinct lives, the band's two primary songwriters unwittingly (for the second time) brought songs to the table that revolved around the exact same theme: breakups. Tackling the hard stuff—heartbreak, loss, change, confronting oneself and coming to terms with the person staring back—BABY I'M AGAINST IT is a breakup album that, true to Pennyroyal's knack for circuitous journeys and serendipitous coincidences, foreshadowed Ethan and Angie's strange impending breakup. Fortunately, the band will not breakup, completely. Rutherford, an accomplished author, will be traveling to shows while promoting his highly acclaimed novel "The Peripatetic Coffin."