I’ve become interested in how much a genre category influences my perception of what that music is going to be, or maybe more of what I expect it to be versus what it actually is. Because while those labels can be helpful in broad strokes, they can often confuse what artists and bands are actually creating. For instance, the term electronic often conjures images of pulsating dance club music or truly experimental work, but many bands are utilizing the technology to augment a different core genre. With all that in mind, I was better prepared as I headed over to Turf Club in Saint Paul for a night of electronic-infused dream pop with Chanel Beads leading a three band line up.

First up was Anastasia Coope. The NYC based Coope started out as a visual artist, but gravitated towards composing and creating music. Her 2024 debut album Darning Woman has her vocals front and center, but supported by drums and the electronic music around it. Coming out as a duo had Coope at front with vocals and electronic music and at back of stage a drummer with full electronica / computerized backing music, and it appeared he was leading some looping as well, though it was a little hard to tell all of the intricacies at times. Coope had a fine stage presence controlling attention at the front, whether she roamed the stage or was busy with the electronic music. Our drummer was ever busy, swinging between the set up at his feet and coming back to drum. This was a reverb heavy vocalization, and the songs were relatively short with different backing musical feels. A mid set song had a backing of strings that gave a vaguely Eastern European folk vibe and Coope’s undulating dance rhythms on stage were well aligned to the vibe. That reverb was set a little heavy, so it was difficult to make lyrics out, but Coope never had a problem expressing the song’s overall feel. A drum pad sound supported a very full musical scope on the dance clubiest number of the set, and the late layered vocals were intense. Finishing up the thirty minute set, Anastasia Coope had gotten things off to a strong start.

The Swedes invaded the Turf Club stage next, with Stockholm based duo Horse Vision arriving. They use both traditional instruments and their synthesized counterparts; their 2025 debut LP Another Life is a great entry point to their sound. The duo (Johan Nilsson and Gabriel von Essen, both on guitar and singing, with heavy computerized backing music) had some technical difficulties out of the gate, but they got sorted out and the band started with a good instrumental warm up. As the vocals came in, that mix with the instruments and electronica hit a great laid back vibe. A stumbled bit of banter ended up being very nice, with a simple “everything is good”, and they went back to the music, focusing on the recent album. Some auto tune vocals from Nilsson on the heaviest synth keys song worked quite well and Horse Vision’s, well, vision of an ethereal indie rock emblazoned with a dense but peaceful backing music was outstanding. Their occasional mixing in of an instrumental number only amped that vibe up more. While they both took lead vocals at various points, they were most effective when in harmony with each other. Nilsson took lead on a late set song and his clear vocals were a delight on top of the guitars and heavily electronic backing music and drums. They were hitting on all cylinders and they went into a final number with some pre-recorded female vocals. It was an eminently danceable number and the band was in thrash mode on guitars as they came to a quick and hard stop. Horse Vision had put a tremendous set together as they cleared their set ups from the stage.

Rounding out the night was headliner Chanel Beads. Shane Lavers and the band (who also have their own musical acts) are based in New York City, but have strong Minnesota connections with Lavers from the Twin Cities suburbs and violinist Zachary Paul from Saint Paul. We last saw them at a sold out show at Zhora Darling last September, where, outside of the very low light levels, they put on an excellent show. With a new album here in 2026, Your Day Will Come is confusingly named the same as their 2024 debut, but is a completely different set of songs than the original. We had another rough start technically, but Lavers played some electronic vocal instrument and the band (Maya McGory on guitar/vocals, Paul on violin, and a drummer whose name I did not catch) supported it so well, it felt like a song, though Lavers followed it with a “we’re going to start the set now”. Big props to Matt from Turf Club sound who was running all over the place to get everything working. JBL in the Fireplace was the strongest and most intense number of the early going, with full electronic support and Paul’s electric violin in full gear. But Embarrassed Dog was such a good follow up and its brevity was punchy and had the crowd fired up. Lavers’ vocals are a major draw of Chanel Beads and he was fully on and the audience was fired up. McGory got lead vocals on Idea June and the contrast was fantastic. Spirit Showing had cheers from the jump and the symbiosis of band and crowd was complete, as the cycle of energy fed on itself. Opening in the Gate had Lavers and McGory both on vocals, adding yet another layer of intensity and Paul’s violin also helped draw it forward. This was peak energy from Chanel Beads and Song for the Messenger was an older number that had the crowd jumping along and absolutely joyous. Silver Cup had McGory back on lead vocals and Lavers taking guitar in a late change of pace. Tyler Richard was introduced as “a special song for Minnesota” and the crowd certainly reacted like it was. They headed off stage, but quickly back on for the encore had McGory take lead for Boss and it summarized the band’s insistent and emotionally honest take. As the house lights went up, Chanel Beads had made the most of their semi homecoming show.