P R E S S
2023
Music in Minnesota Emerging Minnesota Artists in 2024
"The depth of our talented music community is showcased in a group like this.”
Music in Minnesota Sister Species Shines at the Green Room, Concert Review
Adventures in Americana Smouse in the House, Podcast Interview.
“An emotionally intelligent songwriter”
2020
Música Alternativa “Light Exchanges” Review
“A fantastic and delicious album”
WTIP Scenic Route: Sister Species is back with Light Exchanges, Radio Interview
KQAL The Live Feed, Radio Interview
Tinnitist “Light Exchanges” Review
“That triple-strength brass powerhouse turns out to be one of the band’s secret weapons, topping Kastrul’s smart, stylish, subtle and sophisticated songwriting with everything from lushly layered harmonies and intricately syncopated rhythmic counterpoint to impressionistic between-song musical vignettes. Their work adds a high-flying, jazzy element to the gorgeously grounded proceedings, elevating Light Exchanges beyond the norm and creating an album that occasionally comes tantalizingly close to answering the age-old musical question: What would it sound like if Joni Mitchell sang for Chicago?”
Ear Coffee Sister Species - “Light Exchanges” Interview
City Pages This Week in Local Livestreams
“Minneapolis's favorite indie chamber pop septet… Emily Kastrul's songs remain as open-spirited as ever, on their terrific new record, Light Exchanges.”
Star Tribune Virtual Entertainment Picks for May 22-28
“The Minneapolis septet wraps blankets of horns from a trio of trumpeters around Kastrul’s accordion-led songs about botanical and astronomical wonders.”
Bandcamp (“Light Exchanges” review) "New & Notable” (week of 5/12)
“Chamber pop from Minneapolis filled out by golden three-part trumpet, with a lyrical approach both wry and tender”
KBGA Radio (review) New Releases That Help Us Find Beauty in the Ordinary
“Think about the beauty of everyday life in Studio Ghibli movies. Like, how cutting an onion or tending a garden is suddenly a spiritual experience. “Light Exchanges” is like that… a neat tribute to the familiar.”
Audiofemme (premiere + interview) Sister Species Celebrates Feline Friends and Feeling Grounded in New Video
“Sister Species is the definition of wholesome, a breath of fresh air during dark and uncertain times.”
Pass The Mic Podcast (interview) In Touch with Nature and Each Other with Sister Species
“Emily wrote [Light Exchanges] months before we knew that we would have to isolate ourselves, but the way that they focus on the beauty and stillness of connecting with nature speaks so pointedly to our current moment.”
"Bad Songwriter Podcast (interview). Episode 10: Emily Kastrul (Sister Species, Betazoid)
City Pages (“Cottonwood Trees” music video) This Week’s Top 5 MN Music Videos
“Instruments wash together into a gorgeous mélange… Director Sam Fathallah takes a step back as [dancer Michelle] Marie explores an art gallery, bringing the song's themes of loss and memory to life in fluid, melancholic movements.”
Reviler Sister Species: “Cottonwood Trees”
“A beautiful and chaotic sprawl of enveloping sound.”
Ear Coffee (“Cottonwood Trees” single review) Local Music Round-up
“A swirling, mesmerizing form of drone-influenced songwriting.”
Pass The Mic (“Heat Death (Hold Me Here)” single review) New Music Playlist: January 2020
“A cinematic ode to the cold… Sister Species build a crescendoing song that could easily soundtrack a space age movie.”
The Revue (“Heat Death (Hold Me Here)” single review) The Matinee ‘20 — January 13
“Prepare to be taken on a journey with Sister Species on their newest single. “Heat Death (Hold Me Here)” is a triumph of creative expression. The peaks and valleys created by Emily Kastrul will put a smile on your face. Her vocals can part the darkest storm clouds, aided by spine-tingling horns that energize your soul. That’s quite a feat for a song with the inevitable decay of our planet as its subject. It’s antithetical, yet it works beautifully.
“Heat Death” is a testament not only to their songwriting abilities as a band but also to the septet’s cohesion and chemistry as musicians. Not many bands can put such an uplifting spin on otherwise gloomy topics… When the trio of trumpets erupt into the chorus around the 1:30 mark, you feel the band’s exuberance on a cellular level.”
MPR’s 89.3 The Current Song Of the Day 1/10/20
Reviler (“Heat Death (Hold Me Here)” single review) Sister Species “Heat Death (Hold Me Here)” / New Record This Spring
“The jaunty accordion, thought-provoking lyrics, and jubilant three-part trumpet harmonies make it pretty easy to keep any fears of impending doom at bay (at least temporarily).”
Ear Coffee (“Heat Death (Hold Me Here)” single review) Local Music Round-up
“Vibrant horn arrangements, in delightful three-part harmonies”
2019
MN Daily (interview) Sister Species begins where the rest of the world ends
“Sister Species sounds a lot like what Kastrul’s home looks like — colorful and chaotic, yet everything has its perfect place.”
Jazz 88, Minnesota Music Profile (radio interview) Sister Species’ Unique Combination of Pop and Orchestral Influences
Manitou Messenger (interview) Sister Species provides memorable concert
“Memorable choruses, a diverse array of instruments and clever lyrics and arrangements made the performance fun to attend in the midst of a blizzard.”
Sad Girl Collective (interview) Sister Species gets vulnerable with ‘Heavy Things Do Move’
Little Village Mag (interview) Sister Species descends on Trumpet Blossom Cafe
“Sister Species has, to put it mildly, one hell of a roster.”
2018
Música Alternativa “Heavy Things Do Move” Album Review
“A world full of delicate and delicious soundscapes… One of the most beautiful albums of 2018.”
The Next Gig “Heavy Things Do Move” Album Review
“Beautifully arranged songs, in which peace and splendor go hand in hand with [the] details of the wind instruments.”
Star Tribune Minneapolis upstarts Sister Species, Lena Elizabeth pair their album releases Thursday at the Cedar
“A small army of horn players -- including many members of McNasty Brass -- … add even more bounce and beauty to their harmonies and evocative lyrics, the results of which at times variously recall Feist and My Brightest Diamond.”
City Pages (interview) - “Sister Species’ ‘Heavy Things Do Move’ is a beautiful group therapy session”
“Heavy Things Do Move brims with the maturity and perspective of musicians who understand their power and purpose.”
“[Emily Kastrul sings] like she’s traipsing through a garden thinking up revelations. Her lyrics are charming but abstract, calling listeners away from the jerking piano lines into the filigree of her words.”
“The three-part trumpet cohort of Jake Baldwin, Sten Johnson, and Noah Ophoven-Baldwin injects Heavy Things Do Move with a jaunt that makes it forget itself.”
“Heavy Things Do Move addresses a list of afflictions that reads like a government-mandated disclaimer. Anxiety, loss, intimacy, desire, depression, and exhaustion—heavy things, as the title would have it—are all cited in the album’s press material. But these are not clinical side effects or emotional boogeymen. These are hellscapes that have been conquered.”
The Cedar (interview) - “A Conversation with Sister Species and Lena Elizabeth”
Southwest Journal (interview) - “Going To Dark Places”
Mask Magazine (premiere) - “Watch Sister Species’ Dreamy and Empowering Music Video Trilogy”
Reviler - “Sister Species Feat. Hiponymous: New Music Video Trilogy / Forthcoming New Record”
“Heavy Things Do Move promises to be an introspective and deeply emotional work, in the trappings of a buoyantly vibrant collection of tunes. “
2017
City Pages - “Har-di-Har and Sister Species Unite for a Night at Bryant-Lake Bowl”
“Sister Species specializes in quirk-folk of the golden pomegranate variety, with tight-knit harmonies, surprising accordion tones, and a three-piece trumpet section.”
2016
What The Sound - Top 50 Albums 2016
”Sister Species stunned us this summer when they released Closer Now, a sweet-sounding 9-song album consisting of brass, accordion, double bass, and a whole lot of love. We’re hoping the curators of Eaux Claires pick up their hype and book this 7-piece orchestral pop group this year. Our favorite track is “Jacob’s Ladder” and you should definitely tune in if you like Fiona Apple, Dark Dark Dark, or Phox.”
Música Alternativa - “Closer Now” Album Review
“Fantastic orchestration. An absolutely warm and luminous sound.”
KFAI MinneCulture - “Sister Species Makes a Music Video“