For Minnesota Music Month, The Current polled the local music industry for April’s edition of The Scouting Report. A total of 112 people filled out this year’s Minnesota Music Month Scouting Report ballot, and 489 unique artists were chosen overall. The top 10 artists who received the most support include Fend.

It’s a classic story: A few young musicians keep running into each other at shows. They discover they have mutual friends. Eventually, they settle into a dynamic that offers a new creative outlet. The Twin Cities band Fend is made up of experienced musicians — bassist Kate Malanaphy (Keep for Cheap), guitarist Josie Villano (Early Eyes), guitarist John O’Brien (Early Eyes), and drummer Abe Anderson (formerly Niiice, Thank You, I’m Sorry, etc.) — who produce music with full creative control. 

“We have a really DIY mentality, and we like to do everything ourselves,” Villano says, during a Zoom conversation held with the band. “We got together with that mission to do it all.” Anderson agrees. “We're kind of a self-contained unit,” he says. “Pretty much anything we need, we can just do it ourselves. We're not waiting on anyone.”

The band’s do-it-yourself ethos has resulted in two EPs and one album since 2022. Released in September of 2024, a debut full-length Disc allowed members to experiment with a distinct, yet hard-to-define, sound. The band members point out twinkly guitar riffs with odd time signature changes, a pre-chorus with an abnormally high amount of chords, and an extra beat here and there for no reason. These eccentric choices push songs to a point of almost being silly, especially on “Let It Eat.” 

Fend’s music doesn’t sound like any of the members’ other bands. Malanaphy says Keep for Cheap sticks to folksy Americana, and their solo work is more about art-rock and piano. Meanwhile, Fend songs incorporate emo, pop, and a wide-open door for experimentation and growth. The first instrument Anderson felt comfortable with was drums, but he didn’t get the chance to play the instrument in a band for at least four years until Fend’s inception. For Villano, the songwriting opportunity is key. Disc is the first record O’Brien mixed from the ground up.

The album didn’t come with a premeditated theme, according to primary songwriter Villano, but just a desire to finish and release every track in a playable state. In retrospect, Villano sees themes exploring the challenges of analyzing human interaction and the belief that all events deserve thought and consideration — no matter how mysterious they are. 

For the song “Angel One Million,” they cite past online research into growing synthetic human brain matter and using it to power computers. At the time, they thought, “This sucks. I can't really explain why, but I hate it.” 

“Angel One Million” opens by detailing a supernatural situation: “They caught an angel on the trail camera / It shot a beam of light from its forehead and flew back up to heaven.” O’Brien interprets the song as a commentary on the assumption that everything that happens, even the unexplainable, warrants a reaction. Overall, there’s a slightly uneasy feeling that permeates the record. 

The band recently performed at Pilllar Forum’s “Rage & Reset,” a two-day event of local music celebrating the northeast Minneapolis venue’s third anniversary. They all agree Pilllar is one of their favorite venues because of its huge backline amps and awesome staff. It’s also where they watch many friends play.

“We all have those very sweet, college-days house show memories,” Villano says fondly. “Going to punk shows in my late teens and early 20s changed my life.” During Malanaphy’s first years playing music in the Cities, being part of “the scene” felt like an aspiration. Now, bills are filled with people they know and love. 

O’Brien’s description of the scene sounds like the definition of “Minnesota nice” — in the most sincere way. “People are, for the most part, very friendly and very transparent, willing to share things and help people out,” he says, and there aren’t many social-climbing-type behaviors. Anderson builds on the thought, saying, “There's just so many people here that want to make music for the sake and enjoyment of making music… and being a part of the community.”

What makes the band most proud is the feedback they receive from the local artists they admire like Anita Velveeta, trash date, bugsy, Bad Bad Hats, and Haze Gazer. “Basically everyone whose opinion I ever cared about has listened to the album, and that's all I could ever ask for,” Villano says, grinning. 

O’Brien is hopeful for the future of local music. Currently in his late 20s, he was once in denial about feeling old at shows, but now enjoys playing on bills with younger acts. “It's a really special time in the Twin Cities to be coming of age musically,” he says. “I’m really, really thankful to get to observe the next generation coming into a scene that I think is even better than the one that brought us up.” 

As for how bands can embrace the joy of music production that the Twin Cities offer, O’Brien advises, “Just make weirder music. Try not to compromise anything because there's no point to ever do that when it comes to a DIY creative thing.” Villano agrees. “It’s all about fun at the end of the day,” they say. “Life is hard. You gotta play music.”

Fend play at Cloudland on Friday, May 2. Tickets here.

Related:  Minnesota Music Month Scouting Report 2025: The top 10 new local artists