For those still crying into their pillows over the split of From Monument to Masses worry not. Matthew Solberg is back on the scene with Minot. Get ready for the riff reception.

Minot, named after a city in North Dakota perhaps most famous for a devastating flood that occurred in 2011 when the Missouri River got too big for its britches, was formed by Solberg and local rock photographer and skin-slayer Shannon Corr in May of 2010. Apparently Solberg had decided, as FMTM was headed toward the past tense, to “start a band that was less difficult to play on guitar and more upsetting to children and the elderly”. Mission accomplished. They then added local 5-string legend Ben Thorne on bass and BOOM, a band is birthed from the loins of its post-rock, industrial-progressive predecessors.

It is rare to see such definition carried by each band member. Typically there are moments within live performance where the subtleties of one or two of the players are lost within the maze of self-display and overblown presentation. Not the case in Minot. Each member’s role is defined, rigid and teaming with purpose. Corr – a tom-heavy destroyer in the vein of Todd Trainer – has the consistency and drive of a locomotive. It actually feels like you are being physically propelled into each song as the rhythm kicks in and the masterfully epic bass locks to the beat. Throw a little classic Solberg riffage over the top and you have part spastic charm, part beastly tenacity, and all the weight of the world to enjoy. The live show is a pummeler and luckily you emerge shiny as a diamond and squeaky clean – polished by the sounds of sonic fluidity overtaking our shores.

Listen to Minot here.

Watch them live Thursday, April 19 at Bottom of the Hill with Black Elk and Totimoshi. Doors are at 8:30, show is at 9, tickets are $10 and it is 21+. Minot play first