I'm guessing most people do not know the band
12 Rods; a Minneapolis outfit that was making some of my favorite rock music from the mid-90s to the early 2000s. They were signed to V2, had famous producers working on their records, had a well produced
music video and, most importantly, made some
great songs. They had strange time signatures, fascinating instrumentation, wild percussion, layers of nuance to hear and lyrics that were clearly working through something. I loved it. Musically, I put them up there with
Self in terms of ingenuity - which, for me, is saying a lot.
Of course, much like Self, there was a lot of label turmoil and struggle for the band to reach a certain goal that was put forth to them by their financial supporters. When you're signed to V2, there are
expectations and they aren't just to make a great record. The band broke up and was mostly dormant from about 2004 to 2023, almost 20 years. They put out a
new EP in 2023 and it's actually quite good. Along with that, they've been releasing
early demos. I don't know that I suggest a new fan
start here but if you've ever appreciated
Split Personalities, this is a fantastic listen.