Photos by Zak Neumann Thursday night’s three three-man-band bill at The Blue Moose Tap House’s Blue Room (upstairs) was a master class in the power of the trio. All three bands on stage repped a drummer, a guitarist/bass player and a vocalist, and none suffered for missing a conventional piece of the rock ‘n’ roll […]
John Schlotfelt
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Olivia Rose Muzzy: Fisherman's Dream
Local Albums: March 2010 – Olivia Rose Muzzy makes an odd brand of folk music with a double bass, loop pedal, and her wild, expressive vocals. Her debut record, Fisherman’s Dream, presents her live act accurately, rather than tracking all of the many bass parts comprising each piece separately, we’re treated to marked addition as […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Alex Body: Just Say Yes
Alex Body Just Say Yes Self-release Local Albums: March 2010 – Alex Body’s solo debut, Just Say Yes, is a glitchy, lo-fi epic consisting of condemnations of himself and humanity over digital and analog loops and faux pipe organ drones. Just Say Yes takes some time to warm up, but by the third track, “Without […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
The Woes – Heaven Knows
John Schlotfelt reviews “Heaven Knows,” by The Woes, who will visit the Mill this Saturday night to play with Shame Train and The Lonelyhearts
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Show Review: Mountains, TAPE, Marlo Eggplant, Rene Hell, Picador 2/1/10
[audio:http://music.cornwarning.com/audio/2010-02-01-MargotEggplant.mp3|titles=Live@Picador|artists=Marlo Eggplant] Marlo Eggplant [audio:http://music.cornwarning.com/audio/2010-02-01-ReneHell.mp3|titles=Live@Picador|artists=Rene Hell] Rene Hell [audio:http://music.cornwarning.com/audio/2010-02-01-Tape.mp3|titles=Live@Picador|artists=TAPE] Tape [audio:http://music.cornwarning.com/audio/2010-02-01-Mountains.mp3|titles=Live@Picador|artists=Mountains] Mountains Experimental concerts, like Monday night’s show at the Picador, are good for, if nothing else, watching the way compositions are constructed. Monday’s bill presented a wide swath of musical styles and, for the observant, a bevy of approaches. Olympia, WA’s Marlo Eggplant brought […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Mountains: Choral
CD Reviews: February 2010 – Mountains recorded it’s third release, Choral, in front of a live audience with minimal overdubs added later for effect or layering. And despite the trappings of their genre (ambient), the record feels live, not stately. The Brooklyn-based duo pays attention to the listener, quietly adding elements like a fog descending […]
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Album Review: Porch Builder
Porch Builder Tall Tales and Misadventures http://www.myspace.com/porchbuilder When an album begins with a country song about getting arrested for growing marijuana, you know you’re dealing with some Iowa boys who’ve been around the block. These guys have been playing together for 15 years, and on this album, you can hear all those years–they’ll stay in […]
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Album Review: Petit Mal
Petit Mal Bless Your Little Heart Public Schools Records www.myspace.com/petitmal Petit Mal’s latest, Bless Your Little Heart, is a collection of 10 scrappy tunes following in the footsteps of fellow Iowa alt-rockers House of Large Sizes. The saccharine sweetness of the album’s title is almost nowhere to be found. If you want Care Bears and […]
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Album Review: The Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers I and Love and You Sony Records http://www.theavettbrothers.com/ North Carolina’s The Avett Brothers have always had a few too many ideas for their own good. The band’s 6th studio album, I and Love and You, fits into the lose framework of Americana, but within those confines the brothers Avett are all over […]
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Album Review: Bowerbirds | Upper Air
Bowerbirds Upper Air Dead Ocean www.myspace.com/bowerbirds The sophomore release from North Carolina’s Bowerbirds opens simply and unassumingly with an acoustic guitar and the voice of lead singer Phil Moore. Upper Air isn’t making a grand statement, nor is it declaring a grand departure from the group’s debut Hymns for a Dark Horse, it is quietly calling […]
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Miracles of God: Album Review
Miracles of God O’ What a Wonderful Day/No Refunds www.myspace.com/miraclesofgod Iowa City’s Miracles of God have waited long enough in obscurity. After years of playing dusty power-pop, the indie underground has finally caught up. A glut of new fuzzed-out pop purveyors like Times New Viking and Vivian Girls sing about the saccharine love and bitter […]
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Album Review: Animals in the Dark | William Elliott Whitmore
William Elliott Whitmore Animals in the Dark www.williamelliottwhitmore.com William Elliott Whitmore’s fourth album (and major label debut), Animals in the Dark kicks off with what will likely be the most divisive track in his catalog: “Mutiny.” The call and response chant cribs lyrics from both Dr. Dre and The Bloodhound Gang, rides a wave of […]
