Step Rockets performed at Hamline’s Winter Wonderjam in Winter 2015, and since then they’ve continued to gain momentum culminating in the release of their first EP. The group’s “Future Nature” EP drops this Friday before the band performs a release show in Minneapolis at First Avenue & 7th St Entry Saturday night.

A Minneapolis-based band, Step Rockets seamlessly blends psychedelic rock, indie pop, new wave and a host of other genres together—giving the group diverse range packed into a unique sound that varies from one tune to the next.

Joshua Schmidt, the band’s vocalist, shared what the group’s been up to since playing in Hamline’s Anderson Center last year.

“We’ve been busy in the studio,” he said. “We put the finishing touches on our EP and a few other songs that we haven’t released yet over the last year. Now we’re releasing our EP on April 15.”

In anticipation of “Future Nature,” Step Rockets has recently hit the road, performing a mini-tour across the country—allowing the group to share their new songs while playing some fan favorites, including viral sensation “Kisser.”

“We’re excited to get back on the road and play some of these new songs for people. This EP has three old songs on it and three new songs. One of the old songs is ‘Kisser,’ which most people know that song—if they know our band. That’s going to go onto the radio as well as our new song ‘West Coast’ which just premiered on Harbour Records,” Schmidt said.

At their Minneapolis show, Step Rockets isn’t holding anything back as they plan to take the stage late and play it all.

“We’re going to play every song on the EP for sure, plus some new material that people may not be as familiar with,” Schmidt said.

In addition to “Kisser,” the band has released singles for “West Coast,” “Phantom Flower” and “Turning Tides.” The other two songs on the album will be “Chances” and “Love is Just a Chemical.”

“‘Love is Just a Chemical’ is a really cool song, and it’s kind of like a rock anthem with kind of a reggae Motown flare to it. I’m really excited to play that one live because it’s got some cool guitar stuff happening in it,” Schmidt said.

With six tracks on their EP in addition to another handful of original songs that can be found on their “Astronomic Mixtape,” Step Rockets showcases a diverse range of musicality that’s impossible to classify within a single genre. In fact, Schmidt understands how fans may have difficulty classifying the band’s sound.

“Our sound is really based around world grooves, funky psychedelic grooves and hooks mixed with a lot of rock guitar and pop melodies. We’ve often said we try to blend the last four or five decades into one thing so we take a little bit from everywhere,” he said.

Despite “Future Nature” being the band’s first album, Step Rockets isn’t new to the music scene. After “Kisser” came out, the group fell into a pattern of releasing singles rather than focusing on an album-length project.

“‘Kisser’ blew up on us and went viral. It was only the second song we ever recorded and released together,” Schmidt said.

Opening for Step Rockets on Saturday will be Graveyard Club and Denny; two acts Schmidt and his bandmates are very familiar with.

“They’re both really talented bands, and they’re all very nice people as well,” Schmidt said. “It’s fun to have local bands for us for a hometown CD release show. I think that’s way cooler than having a touring act from out of state or something come in. It’s cooler to keep it inside the Twin Cities.”

Schmidt elaborated on how the band has stayed plugged into the Twin Cities music scene, why they’ve chosen to stay in the Midwest and how they’ve filmed music videos locally rather than moving to either coast.

“We like to use people that are from the Twin Cities because that’s where we live and we have a wealth of talent here. It keeps it easy but it also is a part of our sound. We all live here. We all could have moved to New York or L.A. at this point, but I think we really like to live here and be here—and this is where we’ve created our lives as musicians.”

With “Future Nature” on the verge of being released, Step Rockets has no intention of slowing down for the rest of 2016.

“We are going to keep releasing music. We are writing some more tunes right now and starting the production process on more stuff. Then we’re also planning on doing some more touring. We don’t have anything to announce yet but it’s going to be a busy year for us this year—and next year,” Schmidt said.

Tickets for the Saturday, April 16 “Future Nature” release show at First Avenue & 7th St Entry are $10 in advance or $12 in person. Doors open at 8 p.m. before Denny and Graveyard Club take the stage. For more information about the show, visit: http://first-avenue.com/event/2016/04/steprockets.