Initial artists that signed to Mint 400 Records were established North Jersey acts. After several years, the label began signing local indie rock bands from New Jersey and gaining radio success.[1] The label is considered to be a "roster of some of the Garden State's most under-appreciated and challenging bands" by The Star-Ledger's Tris McCall.[2] Mint 400 Records has grown to include artists across the United States, Canada and Europe, in multiple genres. In addition to music, Mint 400 Records expanded its catalog with signing authors and producing audiobooks, under Mint 400 Books.[3] In 2019, there have been over eighty artists and musicians signed to Mint 400 Records.
aBIRD, an electro rock band from Montclair, New Jersey.
Ben Morss from Ancient Babies at Stoshs in 2017.Ancient Babies, an alternative and electro pop project from New Jersey. Ben Morss, formerly of the group Onward Chariots, started the band in 2016. Morss wrote the arrangement and played piano for the Cake song "You Turn the Screws," and wrote two musicals based on the book Angelina Ballerina.[4] Ancient Babies released a four-track EP, entitled The Man from 1943 on July 12, 2016. They performed at the 2016 North Jersey Indie Rock Festival. Their second EP, the five-track Put Me Back in the Sunshine released on March 2, 2018, was produced by Bryan Russell, and is described as "epic and bouncy filled with clever lyrics, bleeps, blips, complex chord structures, blazing keys and pop hooks."[5] Ancient Babies contributed to the compilation At the Movies, with the song "My Heart Will Go On.'[6]
The Clydes, a rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey.
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The Components, a rock band from Jersey City, New Jersey.
Cyclone Static, a punk rock band from Jersey City, New Jersey.
Defend the Rhino, an instrumental project by Nathaniel Sutton from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The ten-track album There's No Place Like Home released in 2016, and the ten-track album Static Breeze in 2017. Sutton released the album Fabricated in 2018, a collaboration with Fairmont, Tiegan, Young Legs and aBIRD. It consists of eight tracks, with the first four including vocals and the last four as instrument-only versions.[7] Defend the Rhino appears on the compilation At the Movies, with a rendition of the theme from Jurassic Park.
Don Kincaid & the Wait on April 1, 2017.Don Kincaid & the Wait, an alternative country rock band from Hackettstown, New Jersey. A native of New Jersey, Kincaid spent several years near Luckenbach, Texas, before returning to New Jersey and enlisting drummer Dale Eddington, formerly of Citizens Band Radio, and guitarist Pierre Marceau. He describes their music as "Tom Petty meets Johnny Cash," and it draws comparison to Merle Haggard, Ryan Adams and Sturgill Simpson. Don Kincaid & the Wait released the album Whiskey & Women on January 24, 2017.[8] The band performed at the North Jersey Indie Rock Festival on September 23, 2017.
etti/etta, a two-piece lo-fi post punk band consisting of vocalist, bassist and keyboardist Raffaella from Calabria, Italy, and guitarist and keyboardist Marcus from Toronto, Canada. They formed in 2013, after finding a shared appreciation of music. Their music is described as a melodic mix of shoegaze, noise pop, and dark 1980s post punk, and they draw comparison to the music of Echo Lake, Alvvays, the Jesus & Mary Chain and Ex Hex.[9] etti/etta released their debut EP No? Yes. in 2013. They signed with Mint 400 Records in 2015, and released their second EP Refrains. Their third EP Old Friends appears in PopMatters' the Best Shoegaze and Dream Pop of 2018, who calls it "hypnotic."[10]
Fairmont, an indie rock and punk band from North Jersey.
Feli and the Lemonshakers, an indie-tropical group from Los Angeles, California. The band members are from Sweden, Chile, Brazil, the United States and Spain, and their music is described as having a "flavour of soul, world music, african rhythms and folkpop."[11] While music students, they wrote the song "Can't Stop" together for a class project in 2014. Their first EP Naïve was self-released on October 15, 2016. In 2018, Feli and the Lemonshakers signed with Mint 400 Records, and released the four-track EP Highlife, along with the single "Get Through."
The French Goodbye, a rock band consisting of Tony Mendoza from Chicago, Illinois, and Thea Lux from Los Angeles, California. A Pirate! press release describes their music as "fuzzy guitars, vintage keyboards, and restless drums with haunting harmonies and psychedelic ear jerky," and they draw comparison to the music of Kim Deal, Devo, Jay Reatard and Ty Segall. The self-released the albums Live Karate Demonstration and Sueños Son Sueños, and the EPs Liver of Sulfur and Living In The End Times. The French Goodbye signed with Mint 400 Records in 2018, and released the twelve track album Vroom!.[12]
The Furies, an indie rock band from Providence, Rhode Island.
Guilty Giraffe, a post-hardcore and shoegaze band from Yonkers, New York.
Home is West, a three-piece indie and alternative rock band from San Clemente, California. They band cites influence from Band of Horses, The Smiths and Suffocation.[13]
Kerchief, a rock band from Cleveland, Tennessee. The band cites influence from STRFKR, Tame Impala, Radiohead and HRVRD.[13]
The Limbos, a psychedelic surf rock band from Chicago, Illinois. They formed initially as a two-piece, primarily featuring percussion, piano and vocals, in 2008 as Stu Benedict. The Limbos grew into a five-piece group, containing a heavy cross pollination of genres, and they draw comparison to Allah-Las, Man or Astro-man? and the Growlers.[14] They self-released their first three albums, Mmmm, Rodeo Ballet and Corners and signed with Mint 400 Records in 2016. Their first release was that year; the EP Eeny Meeny. They contributed a cover of Link Wray's "The Swag" for the tribute album Guitar Rebel: A Tribute to Link Wray. The Limbos also released the albums Ten Notifications in 2017, and Results! in 2018.[14] For the compilation At the Movies, the Limbos contributed a rendition of the theme song from Ghostbusters.
The Maravines, an indie rock and folk band from Union City, New Jersey.
Mister Tom, a solo indie rock project of Thomas Hanslowe from Los Angeles, California. Hanslowe appears on work by the Ashes, the Old Glorys and Shane-Michael Vidaurri . He draws comparison to the music of the Violent Femmes and They Might Be Giants. Recorded in Somerville, Massachusetts, Mister Tom's debut album Party in Survival Shelter 37B was released on March 28, 2017.[15]
Murzik, a dark folk band from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Mutual Interest, an indie rock band from Jersey City, New Jersey. They draw comparison to the music of the Smiths and Morrissey. Mutual Interest released their debut ten-track album, Better Than I Expected on November 10, 2017 on Sniffling Indie Kids. New Jersey Racket describes the album as "jangling post-punk riffs to the melodramatic new wave tones."[16]
The One & Nines, a rhythm and blues band from Jersey City, New Jersey.
Pixl-Visionary at Stoshs, with Young Legs.Pixl-Visionary, an indie rock project of Joseph DeGroot from Boonton, New Jersey, that began in 2011. His debut the lo-fi acoustic ten-track album, The Dry Season was self-released on July 15, 2011. He signed with Mint 400 Records in 2016, and released the nine-track album Shatterskin, described by Speak Into My Good Eye editor Mike Mehalick as "invigorating shoegaze/jangle-pop." It was produced by Steven Donahue.[17] Pixl-Visionary performed at the 2016 North Jersey Indie Rock Festival. He contributed renditions of the songs "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle" for Mint 400 Records Presents Nirvana In Utero, and "Exit music (for a film)" for At the Movies.
Rosey Bengal, an indie rock and alt-country band from Bloomfield, New Jersey. Their second album, Rosey Bengal was released on September 1, 2015. On the albums songwriting, Luberger explains they "wrote this album in an attempt to revive a somewhat lost style of music. Our aim was to create indie tunes that soothe and calm the soul, made present by the warm overtones in each track." Mike Mehalick of Speak Into My Good Eye says "I would say they most certainly succeeded in their goal, with a genuine beating heart at the center of it all that's impossible to fabricate." He describes the single "Virginia" as "intimate, self-effacing, lap steel backed balladry calling to mind songwriting greats of past and present."[18] Rosey Bengal's third album Junk Mail was released jointly by Mint 400 Records and Sniffling Indie Kids, on March 17, 2017. It was recorded and mixed by Max Rauch.
R.Y.E, a rock band from Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Ryan Yoker first signed to Mint 400 Records in 2009 with the Brit-rock group Bombs, and released two EPs. He began the solo project R.Y.E in 2011. BlowUpRadio notes the music is "influenced by 90's Brit-rock, think Stone Roses meets Oasis, however Ryan adds plenty of his own flourishes to differentiate R.Y.E." The first R.Y.E album R.Y.E was released in 2011. Yoker was joined by bassist Darryl Litster and drummer Chris Chamberlin. The EP Neighbours released in 2018, and was produced by Joel Bruyere, and is described as "a mix of 60's garage rock, modern indie, 90's Brit-rock and a little bit of Detroit swagger."[19]
Shithead's Rainbow at Pet Shop, November 8, 2018.Shithead's Rainbow, is a five-piece Avant-garde punk rock band from Bayonne, New Jersey. The band consists of Nick Jorgensen, Nicholas Maratta, Dan Nagano-Gerace, Claire Page and Ryan Treppedi. They describe themselves as "Bayonne trash, with Jersey City style, and Ridgewood cheese, and Newark Bay broth, served by our toxic sunset," and they draw comparison to the music of Gogol Bordello, World/Inferno Friendship Society and Against Me!.[20] Nicholas Maratta released the acoustic-folk albums B. Happy & Free. B. Not Me. on June 13, 2014, and Our Argot on November 14, 2014. They signed with Mint 400 Records in 2018, and released the nine-track album Ludlows on February 13, 2018. New Jersey Racket writes Shithead's Rainbow "indulges in their erraticism which allows them to craft such esoteric melodies unlike anything else you've heard. And while "Bad" is a prime example of what SHRB has to offer, there's no shortage of polka-punk inspired bangers on Ludlows.[21] Shithead's Rainbow performed at the North Jersey Indie Rock Festival on October 6, 2018, and their song "Bad" appears on the compilation NJ / NY Mixtape.
Sink Tapes, an indie and pop rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey.
This Bliss, an indie rock band from Boston, Massachusetts.
Thoughts, an indie rock trio from West Palm Beach, Florida, consisting of guitarist Ben Rothschild, bassist Angel Leiser and drummer Roman Conde. The band cites influence from the Beach Boys, Tame Impala and the Zombies.[13] Their 2017 release Heart it Breaks is noted by The Palm Beach Post as "show[ing] throwback influences - the Beatles, the Who, Pink Floyd, Chic and Fleetwood Mac - all delivered with a modern twist."[22] Their second EP Beyond Belief was released on January 8, 2019.
Tiegan, a folk-jazz musician from California. Kayla Salewsky describes her music as "weird, soft, intimate, melodic and true." She self-released the eighteen-track album Bedroom Set on May 12, 2012, and the Christmas albums Christmastime on December 8, 2012, and Christmas II on December 6, 2013. The EPs Friendly EP were released on September 23, 2013, and Reclaimed was released on September 28, 2014. In 2017, Tiegan signed to Mint 400 Records, and reissued Friendly and Reclaimed in 2018. She released the albums Nothing, Gold and All in me is Sound. She appears on the Defend the Rhino album Fabricated, providing vocals for the song "In the Meantime," and Bob Makin in The Aquarian Weekly notes that Salewsky "steps out of her comfort zone with her vocals added to the electro song."[23]
Tom Preisler, a psychedelic rock musician from Toronto, Canada. Preisler first signed with Mint 400 Records in 2009 with the band Bombs, and released the EP Bombs. In 2011, they released the EP These Trains Run on Time. He started the group The Shelters, who released the album Penny Gaff in 2013. His first solo work on Mint 400 Records was a cover of Lou Reeds' "Satellite of Love" for the tribute album Transformed: A Tribute to Lou Reed. A review in Jersey Beat says Preisler "delivers a well constructed cover[,] enlivened by pounding piano and a distorted wall of guitars."[24] His next group Youth released the album Black Hearts / White Lights on February 23, 2016, described as "instrumentals and odd soundscapes that sound like they could be part of any classic brit rock groups repertoire, from the Stone Roses to Radiohead."[25] Preisler released the solo album The Very Best of in 2017.
Tony Saxon at Pet Shop, March 13, 2019.Tony Saxon, a rock musician from New Milford, New Jersey that started in 2011. His music is described as "garage-psych-surf-blue-eyed-soul and roll."[26] He self-released the albums no profusions of silk or silver, So God Damn Over It and Cardinal Sin. Mint 400 Records released his fourth album, the eleven-track album Old Souls & Long Term Goals on January 26, 2018. Jersey Beat notes the album "brings a throwback vibe[;] a latterday garage rocker who mixes soul, R&B, rockabilly, and surf rock into a likable combination that's part the Fleshtones, part Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and part Ventures.[27] His fifth album, Manic Depressive Idiot Savant was released on 9 November 2018. Tony Saxon performed at the North Jersey Indie Rock Festival on 6 October 2018, and he contributed the previously unreleased song "Truth is My Identity" for the compilation NJ / NY Mixtape. In 2019, Tony Saxon was joined by the Hsu-nami drummer John Manna, to form the duo Serpent Worship. Saxon describes the band as "somewhere between the Melvins and Death From Above. It's not super heavy, it's not super light, it's not super weird, but it’s fun, and it still has a groove to it."[26]
Tri-State, a rock band from Maplewood, New Jersey.
Ultra Major at the 2018 North Jersey Indie Rock Festival.Ultra Major, a rock band from Brooklyn, New York that formed in 2014. The released their debut album Ultra Major on Mint 400 Records on August 24, 2018. A Pirate! press release describes the album as "the product of four guys who grew up listening to 90s guitar rock," and it is compared to the music of the Pixies, early Smashing Pumpkins and Sonic Youth.[28] Ultra Major played at the North Jersey Indie Rock Festival on October 6, 2018, and their song "Face Like an Animal" appears on the compilation NJ / NY Mixtape.
The Vice Rags, a garage rock band from Asbury Park and Jersey City, New Jersey.
Yawn Mower, an alternative rock band from Asbury Park, New Jersey.
Young Legs, an indie folk musician from Bloomfield, New Jersey.
Zach Uncles, a guitarist and instrumentalist from New Hampshire. He began playing electric guitar in 1996, followed by playing Hawaiian knife-style and lap steel guitar in 1999.[29] Zach Uncles appears on the Connection albums Christmas Gift for You, Just for Fun, Labor of Love and Let It Rock!, playing lap guitar and steel guitar.[30] He released the albums The Very Best of... and Surf Carousel in 2015. Zach Uncles contributes instrumental renditions for the tribute and compilation albums 1967, Mint 400 Records Presents Nirvana In Utero, Guitar Rebel: A Tribute to Link Wray and At the Movies.
