The Curiously Strong Peppermints

About The Curiously Strong Peppermints

The Curiously Strong Peppermints are a Minneapolis-based psychedelic pop recording project and sometimes-live-band. Formed in 2004, they have self-released four proper albums and a rarities compilation: Endless Fields of Poppy (2009), Echoes From The Ultraviolet Fuzz (2011), Napoleon Bonaparticle Accelerator (2014), Translucent Dreams in the Orange Crematorium (2015) and JOYOUS (2017). The Curiously Strong Peppermints feature Beatles-inspired pop songs coupled with more cerebral Bob Dylan-inspired lyrics, fragile vocals, noisy guitars, oddball instrumentation and a lo-fi aesthetic.

The band began in 2004 as a recording project between songwriter Jesse Miller and multi-instrumentalist Ben Swanson. Enlisting drummer Stephan Ahonen (Stellar Victor), the trio recorded the Cherry-Flavored Apple and Sonic Bliss demos in Jesse's tiny NE Minneapolis apartment on his Tascam 4-track. Multi-instrumentalist Scott Petersen (The Drugstore Rockers, Zombabies) joined in 2005. Stephan was soon replaced by Milwaukee-based drummer Eric Reiter (Joyride, Elusive Parallelograms) and the quartet begun recording their debut album Endless Fields of Poppy in garages and haunted apartments. With the album half-finished, The Curiously Strong Peppermints went on a temporary hiatus in 2006. Returning in 2009 with the addition of guitarist Mason Butler (Tiger Gash, Kill The Runt), Endless Fields of Poppy was finally completed and released on the band's own Sunshine Cortex Records label. Released primarily through online file-sharing methods, the album miraculously went viral on the internet and became a favorite of lo-fi psychedelic pop fans.

Following extensive local gigging to promote the album with live drummer Emily Tenczar (Cancer Kids, Stained Glass Rabbit), and the addition of multi-instrumentalist David Schmitz (Cities of the Plain, FM Bells) to replace Scott, The Curiously Strong Peppermints road-tested the new material Jesse had written during the band's three-year hiatus. Meant as a concept album in three acts, the band recorded 2011's Echoes From The Ultraviolet Fuzz during this period with Eric commuting between Milwaukee and Minneapolis, and drummer Bradley Hunt (Missile Dick) filling in when Eric couldn't. The album layered with vintage organs, swirling psychedelic guitars, vocal harmonies and surreal lyrics told the story of The Inverted Why, Anna Livia Plurabelle and The Synthetic Grin, and remains the band's masterpiece. The Curiously Strong Peppermints continued to support the album locally, often with the horn section of Sara LaPage and Jeannette Kjos, whom both performed on the album.

2012 saw The Curiously Strong Peppermints scaled down to a lean four-piece with Jesse, Ben, Mason and new drummer Sean Fahrni, and began recording The Singles Series from Jesse's new home studio Colorwheel Sound. Consisting of songs written during the Ultraviolet Fuzz sessions which did not fit the concept, The Singles Series was meant to be six stand-alone single releases, to be eventually collected in the end as The Curiously Strong Peppermints' third album. Unfortunately, activity in the band slowed down as Mason & Jesse begun playing in the noise-pop band Awkward Bodies, and Ben & Sean played in indie-folk band Under The Old Sky; the album-in-progress was shelved in 2013 after only two single releases. In 2014, Jesse compiled and released the rarities compilation Napoleon Bonaparticle Accelerator in honor of the band's tenth anniversary. As Awkward Bodies begun to wind down in 2015, Jesse revisited the Singles Series material and recorded the remaining songs meant for the project himself. Quietly released as Translucent Dreams in the Orange Crematorium, the album saw a more noise-pop oriented sound, informed by Jesse's role as noise-guitarist in Awkward Bodies, and a lyrical focus concerned with the hypocrisy and lunacy of social norms. Instead of promoting the album, Jesse joined former bandmate Mason to play bass in the indie rock band Mine.

With a backlog of new songs and a downtime between bands, Jesse began recording The Curiously Strong Peppermints' fourth proper album the very week Translucent Dreams in the Orange Crematorium was released. Again recording much of the tracks himself, he drew upon the family of contributing past and present Curiously Strong Peppermitns’ musicians: Sean, Emily and Eric alternated on drums and the pair of David and Jeannette reprised their respective roles. Heavily influenced by the death of Jess's ex-wife in late 2015, the album was slowly recorded and reshaped over two years. Finally released as JOYOUS on Halloween 2017, the album features the most personal and relatable songwriting of any Curiously Strong Peppermints album, coupled with their most refined production.