Strange Names

Video Debut - A Heart is A Spade

there's hardly anything detached or calculated about Strange Names' music. "Potential Wife," the obvious single off their new, self-titled EP, is one of the most joyful, exuberant dance numbers to come out of the City of Lakes in the past 12 months. And, with an energetic supporting cast, that vibe carries over to concerts. - CityPages

The duo’s tight, punchy disco-pop caught the attention of the Twin Cities and landed them in last fall’s Picked to Click issue of City Pages, but shortly after releasing the EP they already started to explore other sonic territories live. As I noted after this year’s Best New Bands showcase, Strange Names’ Liam Benzvi and Francis Jimenez were exploring much darker and richer textures in the live setting, at times channeling the Britpop sound of bands like Blur. - 89.3 The Current

"If there's music that symbolizes the cummulative energy of the 250,000-plus throng at SXSW 2013, it's the synth-infused pop-rock presence of Minneapolis outfit Strange Names." - SoundSpike

Listening to the four tracks off Strange Names’ forthcoming self-titled EP, it’s hard to believe that founders Liam Benzvi and Francis Jimenez have only been making music together for a year.

Over the past 12 months, Benzvi and Jimenez have gone from college dorm neighbors to musical dabblers to full-blown band leaders, fleshing out the skeletons of songs they had constructed on their laptops into layered, shimmering, and nostalgic dance-pop. - Andrea Swensson, The Current

Split between Minneapolis and Brooklyn, Liam Benzvi and Francis Jimenez, a.k.a. Strange Names create blissful, lo-fi swoons that simultaneously evoke feelings of tranquility amid disorder and a certain kind of uncertain shadowy mystique.

This track is taken from the new EP “Five Songs” which, as you might guess has five tracks; each one having its own character and charm whilst working well with it’s surroundings. You can can a free copy of the EP at the duo’s bandcamp page; something that I’d certainly recommend you do. - Centuries, UK

"Strange Revelation"

Here’s a promising track from local duo Strange Names, one which creates a minimal backdrop for Liam Benzvi’s confident words before slowly building into a rounded orchestration around the minute mark. It’s a good song because it creates moments of major accessibility before tearing down the framework to dare the listener to keep listening. It’s certainly worth your time to stick with it – they've opted to meld together many elements of indie music that are popular on their own terms: synth-pop, washed-out vocals, atypical rhythms and psychedelia (to name a few).

The backstory? Benzvi is 21, from Brooklyn, and sings and deals with percussion and keys. His counterpart, Francis Jimenez, is 22, from Minneapolis, sings and plays guitar and bass. They met at the University of Minnesota and currently employ two others for their live acts: Andre Borka and Michael Grothe. “Strange Revelation” is a new single, dropped just days ago on May 20, and you can grab it for free from their Bandcamp. Since I have now listened to this song about 15 times since 7 a.m., I think it's safe to say they’ve won me over. - Jon Schober, The Current 89.3