Communist Daughter is an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band from

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

, founded by Johnny Solomon in 2009. They have released three albums and three EPs.

History

2009-2010: Soundtrack to the End

Communist Daughter was founded in 2009 by singer and songwriter

Johnny Solomon Communist Daughter is an indie rock band from Saint Paul, Minnesota, founded by Johnny Solomon in 2009. They have released three albums and three EPs. History 2009-2010: Soundtrack to the End Communist Daughter was founded in 2009 by singer and ...

Prescott, Wisconsin Prescott is a city in Pierce County, Wisconsin, Pierce County, Wisconsin at the confluence of the St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota), St. Croix River and Mississippi River. The population was 4,258 at the 2010 census, making it the second-large ...

. Solomon moved from Saint Paul to Prescott in 2007 after addiction, mental health issues, and a spell in jail caused the breakup of his marriage and of his band, Friends Like These.Hoenack, Dave (2012)
Communist Daughter's Lions and Lambs EP explores Johnny Solomon's recovery from addiction
", ''

Minneapolis City Pages ''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a d ...

'', July 4, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2014Crain, William (2012)
Of Note: Communist Daughter
, ''

San Diego Reader The ''San Diego Reader'' is an alternative press newspaper in the county of San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a ...

'', September 26, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2014Melton, Kyle (2012)
Lions & Lambs
, '' Dayton City Paper'', May 29, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2014Riemenschneider, Chris (2010)
Local music: Johnny Solomon's kingdom
", ''

Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

'', April 2, 2010. Retrieved June 19, 2014 There he took over the Boxcar restaurant and began writing and recording as Communist Daughter, taking the name from a

Neutral Milk Hotel Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed in Ruston, Louisiana, by musician Jeff Mangum. They were active from 1989 to 1998, and again from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock ...

song. He assembled a band of Twin Cities musicians–bassist–Adam Switlick (formerly the guitarist with Friends Like These), keyboardist Jonathan Blaseg, and drummer Steve Yasgar (formerly of A Whisper in the Noise and Swiss Army)–recording a four-song demo that included the track "Not The Kid." Communist Daughter signed to Grain Belt Records and began recording their debut album ''Soundtrack to the End''. They added singer Molly Moore, whom Solomon met when she visited his restaurant, and guitarist Al Weiers (formerly of Faux Jean and the Odd). Steve Yasgar took a break from the band during the recording, and they finished the album with drummer

Christopher McGuire Christopher McGuire (born November 28, 1975 -) is an American drum set player, session drummer, drum teacher, and producer. He is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Early life and career Christopher McGuire was raised in a musical fa ...

(

12 Rods 12 Rods (also known by the stylistic variants 12RODS and Twelve Rods) is an indie rock band from Minneapolis Minnesota. The group was formed in Oxford, Ohio in 1992, later relocating to Minneapolis in 1995 where it was based until its disbandmen ...

Kid Dakota Kid Dakota is the musical moniker of Darren Jackson, sometimes accompanied live or in the studio by various band members. History Born in the small, isolated town of Bison, South Dakota, Jackson started performing as "Kid Dakota and the Tumbl ...

). In March, 2010, the single "Not The Kid" reached No. 1 on KCMP 89.3 The Current's charts.Swensson, Andrea (2012)
Johnny Solomon's Road to Recovery
, The Current, January 12, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2014 Steve Yasgar returned to the band, bringing along keyboardist Lee VanLith, who played with Yasgar in A Whisper in the Noise. ''Soundtrack to the End'' was released in April 2010 on Grain Belt Records. The critic for the ''

'' placed it as third on his top ten list for the year. Five years later that same critic rated the album as the second best to have come from Minnesota in the first half of the 2010s. Two songs from ''Soundtrack To The End'' ("Speed of Sound" and "Soundtrack to the End") were featured in Season 7 Episode 14 (P.Y.T.) of the ABC show ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...

''. The year ended with Solomon confronting renewed mental health and addiction problems, just as the band was poised for success. They participated in two end-of-the year tribute shows at First Avenue, beginning with a late November tribute to The Replacements. The band ended the year with a shambolic

Golden Slumbers "Golden Slumbers" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album ''Abbey Road''. Written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it is the sixth song of the album's climactic B-side medley. The song is follow ...

cover at First Avenue's annual John Lennon tribute, after which Solomon checked himself into the

Hazelden The Hazelden Foundation is an American non-profit organization based in Center City, Minnesota. Hazelden has alcohol and drug treatment facilities in Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, Florida, Washington, and New York. It offers assessment and pri ...

treatment center.

2011-2015: touring, EPs, and vinyl remix

Solomon moved back to Saint Paul in 2011, following his release from Hazelden. Steve Yasgar and Lee VanLith left the band in April, 2011 and Ian Prince joined on drums.Riemenschneider, Chris (2011)
Local music news: Communist Daughter ready for fall rush
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'', September 22, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2014 They remixed ''Soundtrack to the End'' for vinyl, rerecording some of the drum tracks with Prince because the original tapes had been lost. They then recorded the EP ''Something Wicked This Way Comes'' with a limited release in September 2011. In 2012, Dan DeMuth replaced Ian Prince on drums, and multi-instrumentalist Dillon Marchus replaced keyboardist Jonathan Blaseg.Sullivan, Derek (2014)
Communist Daughter takes collective approach in Rochester show
, ''

Post-Bulletin The ''Post Bulletin'' is an American, English language newspaper and news website based in Rochester, MinnesotaPostbulletin.comprovides community coverage seven days a week with a print product two days a week: Tuesday and Saturday. The ''Post Bu ...

'', March 25, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014 In July they released ''Lions & Lambs'' and toured nationally, including the CMJ Music Festival and several dates with

Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit Michael Jason Isbell (; born February 1, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is known for his solo career, his work with the band The 400 Unit, and as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. Isbell h ...

.Jackson, Josh (2013)
Communist Daughter
, '' Paste'', August 18, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2014What We're Looking Forward to This Month
, ''

Minnesota Monthly Greenspring Media is a publisher of Minnesota-focused publications. The company publishes two subscription magazines, ''Minnesota Monthly'' and ''Midwest Home'', as well as custom publications including ''Real Food'', '' Where Twin Cities'', ''Twin ...

'', July 1, 2012. The band toured throughout 2013, 2014, and 2015, as they worked on their second album with

Kevin Bowe Kevin Bowe is a songwriter, record producer and musician from Minneapolis. He is most well known for his work with prominent rock and blues artists including Paul Westerberg and the The Replacements (band), Replacements, writing songs for hit al ...

. The band was featured in ''

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...

''s Best of What's Next 20 issue (#105) in August 2013. In September, 2013, singers Molly Moore and Johnny Solomon married.Gallagher, Natalie (2014)
Communist Daughter's Johnny Solomon talks touring, new music ahead of Wednesday gig
", '' Paste'', May 13, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014 In March, 2014, the band played the

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

festival in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. In July 2014, Dan DeMuth left the band, and Yasgar rejoined as Communist Daughter toured extensively, including more dates with Isbell. The Solomons also began playing acoustic duo shows, reaching out to fans on Twitter. In 2015 they toured as both a full band and as an acoustic duo, and they finished the year with an EP of sad Christmas tunes, ''Sing Sad Christmas,'' featuring covers of various depressing holiday tunes, including the Pogues' "

Fairytale of New York "Fairytale of New York" is a song written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and recorded by their London-based band the Pogues, featuring singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl on vocals. The song is an Irish folk-style ballad and was written as a due ...

" and

The Boy Least Likely To The Boy Least Likely To is an English indie pop duo, composed of composer/multi-instrumentalist Pete Hobbs and lyricist/singer Jof Owen. History Owen and Hobbs both grew up in the village of Wendover in Buckinghamshire. After meeting at schoo ...

's "Blue Spruce Needles".

2016-2017: The Cracks That Built the Wall

2016 saw the release of the band's second full-length album, ''The Cracks That Built the Wall''. The first single, “Roll a Stone,” was featured in ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''’s “10 best songs of the week” and on

NPR Music NPR Music is a project of National Public Radio, an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization, that launched in November 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music ...

’s "10 Songs Public Radio Can’t Stop Playing.” The album finished the year as number three on the ''Star Tribunes Minnesota top ten. The song "Keep Moving" was used on an episode of the Showtime series Shameless and on an episode of

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily sur ...

. Solomon also became active in speaking out about his mental illness and addiction, and about artists' need to care for themselves. In August he joined the board of Dissonance, a nonprofit organization that works on these issues. In September he wrote an article for

Talkhouse Talkhouse is a digital media outlet and online magazine created in 2013 by Ian Wheeler and Tim Putnam. Musicians, actors, and filmmakers share their experiences in their respective fields in personal essays, discuss their peers’ work in editor ...

that frankly detailed his struggles with undiagnosed bipolar disorder and addiction during the band's first years. The band toured again in 2017, playing dates with The Dig,

Jason Isbell Michael Jason Isbell (; born February 1, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is known for his solo career, his work with the band The 400 Unit, and as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. Isbell h ...

Balto Balto (1919 – March 14, 1933) was a Siberian Husky and sled dog belonging to musher and breeder Leonhard Seppala. He achieved fame when he reportedly led a team of sled dogs driven by Gunnar Kaasen on the final leg of the 1925 serum run to Nom ...

, and

Seratones Seratones are an American soul rock band formed in Shreveport, Louisiana in 2013. The group's original line-up consisted of AJ Haynes (vocals, guitar), Connor Davis (guitar), Adam Davis (bass guitar), and Jesse Gabriel (drums). Initially, a fav ...

, and returning to

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

Cuepoint Medium is an American online publishing platform developed by Evan Williams and launched in August 2012. It is owned by A Medium Corporation. The platform is an example of social journalism, having a hybrid collection of amateur and professio ...

named their SXSW performance the 11th freshest that they saw. During SXSW the band played a live session for

. In May,

Twin Cities PBS Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. (abbreviated TPT, doing business as Twin Cities PBS) is a nonprofit organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, that operates the Twin Cities' two PBS member television stations, KTCA-TV (channe ...

broadcast a short documentary about the band, including footage from a show that had been taped live in their studio.

2020: Unknown Caller and Alaska

On March 12, 2020 the band announced a Indiegogo project to raise funds to release its third album, ''Unknown Caller.'' The Indiegogo project states that Moore and Solomon gave up a relentless touring schedule and moved first to San Diego to care for aging family, and then to their new home in a remote village in the Alaskan tundra. The album was released directly to project funders on May 9, 2020.

Musical style

The band's music has been described as

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

, folk pop, and

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

.Boller, Jay (2010)
CD review: Communist Daughter's "Soundtrack to the End"
", ''

Minnesota Daily The ''Minnesota Daily'' is the campus newspaper of the University of Minnesota, published Monday and Thursday while school is in session, and published weekly on Wednesdays during summer sessions. Published since 1900, the paper is currently the la ...

'', April 14, 2010. Retrieved June 19, 2014Communist Daughter - "Ghosts"
, Noisey (''Vice''), June 26, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2014 Solomon's vocals have been compared with

Andrew Bird Andrew Wegman Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing musi ...

. Songs on the second album have drawn comparisons to

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew ...

and

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

Geslani, Michelle
Communist Daughter struggle to “Hold Back” their emotions on new song — listen

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

, September 27, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017

Band members

Members of Communist Daughter are: * Johnny Solomon – guitar, lead vocals * Molly Moore Solomon – lead vocals * Steven Yasgar – drums * Adam Switlick – bass guitar, vocals * Dillon Marchus – keyboards, guitar * Al Weiers - guitar Former members * Christopher McGuire (2009) – drums * Jonathan Blaseg (2009–2012) – keyboards * Lee VanLith (2010–2011) – keyboards * Ian Prince (2011) – drums * Dan DeMuth (2012-2014) – drums

Discography

Albums

* ''Soundtrack to the End'' (2010) * ''The Cracks That Built the Wall'' (2016) * ''Unknown Caller'' (2020)

EPs

* ''Something Wicked This Way Comes'' (2011) * ''Lions & Lambs'' (2012) * ''Sing Sad Christmas'' (2015)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2009 establishments in Minnesota Alternative rock groups from Minnesota American folk rock groups American musical sextets Indie rock musical groups from Minnesota Musical groups established in 2009