East Nashville’s independent label Cafe Rooster Records is excited to announce the release of a new full length album from The Minks, Nashville’s up and coming “psychedelic-bloos” band featuring front woman, Nikki Barber.
Heavy on the rock and roll, Light & Sweet is about finding the silver lining amongst the madness- a timely call to arms about staying positive in a world that can often times feel bleak. “I wrote these songs as I was living on my own for the first time and calling out the bullshit within my life. These songs were outlets for me to heal, which I hope they will do for other people as well,” says Barber.
Originally from Gettysburg, PA, a town known for its ghosts, Nikki began writing and recording songs in a makeshift, basement studio at a young age. She decided to move to Nashville where Barber created the rock and roll, four piece band, The Minks. With the same innovative “garage rock” spirit she started out with, Barber, alongside coproducer Joe Bissiri, began recording her debut album, Light & Sweet, at her home in Nashville.
The Minks hover in the space of psyche-blues and pure rock with Barber’s vocals being compared to Patti Smith and Bonnie Raitt and feature a full range of dark stompers (“J. Walker Blues”) to soft ballads (“Bring Your Lovin’ Home to Me”), all mixed with a little classic twang (“Ode to Hank”).
With fashion also being a passion of Barber’s, Nikki intertwines her throwback style with her fashion design and visual artistry, creating her own stage clothes, a unique line of merch as well as music videos that capture the often-overlooked underbelly of Nashville’s rock and roll scene.
The Minks have quickly garnered fans of fuzz guitars and melodic, vocal-driven rock and roll with live performances alongside artists such as The 5678’s, Liz Cooper and the Stampede, Bermuda Triangle, Jeff the Brotherhood and Diane Coffee and they have appeared on Lightning 100’s Sunday Night Live with Aaron Lee Tasjan and Ron Gallo.
Find The Minks on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter