Planer is a rock band from Minneapolis. Formed in the spring of 2025, the band has hit the ground running, releasing two EPs, playing engaging live shows in the Midwest, and was voted one of the Top 10 Best New Bands by 89.3 The Current.
Planer released their debut demo/EP named The End EP after only a few months of songwriting and rehearsing. The sound is seasoned and the feedback positive, receiving tens of thousands of streams. Planer’s follow-up, ‘Feel It Too / Dial,’ was released in April 2026 and is generating buzz.
Jack Mooradian and Zack Moncrieff weave interlocking guitar melodies with pulverizing riffs while sharing vocal duties. Bassist Matt Day provides the gravitational low end to anchor the angular guitar work, while drummer Ricky Frame drives the songs through moments of quiet introspection and explosive catharsis.
With ‘Feel It Too / Dial’ out now, we took some time to hear from Planer. Read below to learn more about Planer, the story behind ‘Feel It Too / Dial,’ and what’s to come.
Hi! Let’s start with how did the band’s name come about?
Jack: I think we saw the word somewhere online, and I was like what about that? And, Zack was like sure. Checked on Spotify to see if anyone else was named Planer and beat them all to the punch. The rest is history as they say.
What city are you all from, and where are you all based now?
Jack: Zack just moved to Minneapolis last year, but we are all big Minneapolis heads now.
How and when did the band form?
Jack: Zack and I started writing some songs in the spring of 2025, and after a couple things clicked we knew we needed a drummer. We wrote a craigslist ad one night looking for someone with shared influences, and within weeks got in touch with and met Ricky. After playing a couple times together, Ricky suggested his good friend Matt should play bass. They were in a few bands together previously. That was probably about May 2025, and we started cooking pretty hard after that.
How would you all describe your group’s sound?
Jack: A lot of ’90s rock influences with some emo flare sometimes and moments of heavier shoegaze type stuff.
Who are some of your band’s main musical influences?
Jack: We all pull from a lot of different places but they all come together pretty nice. In general many ’90s rock bands like HUM and Smashing Pumpkins are common ground for us all, with some outliers being Red House Painters, Jeff Buckley and more Midwest emo type stuff like Mineral and Slint.
What’s one of the proudest moments of your band’s music career so far?
Jack: We were featured in The Current’s September 2025 scouting report which was so awesome, and then we were sort of blown away by being voted one of the Top 10 New Bands for their 2026 Minnesota Music Month. All the other bands on that list are fantastic. We also had the opportunity to contribute a song to the Melt Ice compilation album, which we are so grateful to be a part of and support wholeheartedly.
What would you all say are the greatest lessons that you’ve all learned so far?
Jack: Be kind, be helpful, and expect nothing.
Now onto ‘Feel It Too / Dial.’ What inspired ‘Feel It Too / Dial?’
Jack: “Dial” was inspired by missing someone. “Feel It Too” was an attempt to capture a scene of loneliness.
How do the two songs compare and contrast?
Jack: They share their feelings of loneliness, but contrast in presentation and tempo.
What was the inspiration behind the cover artwork for ‘Feel It Too / Dial?’
Jack: We wanted to capture some of the moments we had over the course of us making these songs. We started pulling together some pictures and it looked pretty cool all collaged together.
What was the creative process like when making ‘Feel It Too / Dial?’
Jack: We tried some new recording techniques while in the studio that felt like a good representation of our progress as a band. We also wanted the recording to capture what we really sound like playing together in a room.
How long did it take to complete ‘Feel It Too / Dial?’
Jack: We recorded both songs in two days, but then sat on them for a few months unsure what we were going to do with them. After some time listening back, we decided it was a good time to show people where we were at.
What do you all hope fans take away from ‘Feel It Too / Dial‘ and your band’s music in general?
Jack: With this release, in particular, we wanted to show people we have a few flavors up our sleeve. Both songs share a lot in theme, but come from pretty different places.
What’s next? Are you all working on any upcoming projects, or do you all have any upcoming shows that we should be on the lookout for?
Jack: We got a lot of shows coming up this summer playing around Minneapolis, and hope to record a full-length album in the fall. We’ve got June 6th and June 27th at Gambit Brewing in St Paul, MN. July 8th we are opening for a band from Philly named Attack Dog at Zhora Darling in Minneapolis. July 11th at Bumbling Fools in Minneapolis. In August, we are playing at Cloudland Theater in Minneapolis, this show will be our one-year anniversary of playing out. On September 20th, we are at Pilllar Forum supporting Cat Positive from Bellingham, WA. On June 20th, we are doing a video session with Taylor Street Sessions that we are very excited for.
Where can we follow you all on social media?
Jack: Our Instagram is https://www.instagram.com/planer.band. Our website is https://www.planerisperfect.com. You can hear us on most streaming services. We’re on Subvert.FM, Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, Audiomack, SoundCloud, you name it. Check us out!
Before you all go, let’s ask you all an off-topic question. Favorite shoe?
Bucket: All Black Vans.
Ricky: Lems Primal Zen.
Zack: Altra Lone Peak.
Jack: New Balance 550.
Thank you all for the great interview; wish you all much continued success!
