With a stage name like Patricia Holly, a Christmas album seems to be a no-brainer. Name synergy aside, the Des Moines-based jazz and Americana artist is wholly up to the […]
Elisabeth Oster
Album Review: Bootcamp — ‘Time’s Up’
Time’s Up by Bootcamp. Whenever Iowa City hardcore punk outfit Bootcamp sets off for the divey bars and dimmed basement venues of a tour, vocalist Juliette Enloe sets a phone […]
Album Review: Sophie Mitchell — ‘What’s Left of Us’
What's Left of Us by Sophie Mitchell So rarely does an album break free from its auditory confines and spin itself into the most visceral, tender visual scenes, painting an […]
Album Review: River Glen — ‘Poignant Folk-Pop’
Poignant Folk-Pop by River Glen There’s a certain cyclical nature to the poignancy of folk in popular culture. Turned to most in times of turmoil, folk music is perhaps the […]
Album Review: Bouquet — ‘Feel in Color’
Feel In Color by Bouquet Do you know what it’s like to “feel in color?” That’s the question on the minds of five-piece Des Moines band Bouquet on their latest […]
Album Review: Dearborn — ‘Memo for a Friend’
Memo For A Friend by dearborn There’s a particular atmosphere to a sleepless night. More than likely, it culminates in stumbling through a dark room and mental fog to turn […]
Album Review: Sun Centauri — ‘Flux4D’
When Alyx Rush declares, “I need my space,” in the first atmospheric gasps of Flux4D, it would be easy to assume the aforementioned space only speaks to normal human conflict, […]
Album Review: Joytrip — ‘Leaving State’
Leaving things never has a natural conclusion. Leaving things means unresolved relationships, passion projects and bucket lists. And maybe, just maybe, that place, or person, or thing left behind is […]
Album Review: The Shining Realm — ‘Talismandala’
Talismandala by Shining Realm “Welcome to the Hallucination we call Home,” beckons a calm, steady voice in its echoes and layers of slithering percussion and Eastern-influenced stringed instrument tapestries. Where […]
Album Review: Wolfskill & the Wild — ‘Feral Heart’
Take Me As I Am by Wolfskill & The Wild It may seem counterintuitive to first notice and bask in the silence of an album, when music is quite literally […]
Album Review: Andrew Hoyt — ‘Kind of Paradise’
Sun-drenched hooks and sunscreen-slathered horn sections are not very Iowa. But for Andrew Hoyt and his latest EP, Kind of Paradise, bottling sunshine is the point, whether charting heartbreak or […]
Album Review: Dizzy Bridges — ‘Spot the Pattern’
Spot the pattern by Dizzy bridges Dizzy Bridges’ new album is holistic, with hidden themes and lyrical depth to decode. Up for the challenge and armed only with the hint […]

