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Paul Cary makes raggedy, broken music. His guitar sounds are dirty, distorted and low-fi. Drummer Johnathan Crawford sounds like he’s banging on a briefcase. Cary’s nasal voice puts the mixer in the red, surrounding every accented syllable with a cloud of fuzz. “Snake In the Grass,” the opening track on his 2020 release, Raven, drips […]
Tall Doozy is a project from veteran Iowa City hip-hop producer Tyler James, a.k.a. Jim Swim, in close collaboration with singer and producer Mary Bozaan. Previous Jim Swim releases explored various flavors of hip hop, and include other fruitful collaborations with MCs like Tyler Stück and ADE. Sad Girls With Bible Names lands more squarely […]
Every president of the United States dominates public discourse so thoroughly that they almost erase their predecessor from the collective consciousness. No one has done that as thoroughly as Donald J. Trump. One has to think hard to remember the Obama presidency, given the relentless onslaught of dishonesty and brutish absurdity […]
Doug Nye has been playing shows around Iowa City for almost a decade. A self-taught guitarist, singer and songwriter, he’s always had a resonant, deep baritone voice and an ear for bleak folk-tinged songwriting. His voice has become more confident even as his songwriting has turned more cryptic and playful. […]
From the opening shot of a vintage Webcor cassette recorder, you know that vintage is the vibe Anthony Worden is going for in the video for “The Slightest Notion.” […]
Dan Padley (a member of Laranja and Elizabeth Moen’s band) is releasing a new EP of ambient guitar improvisations Nov. 1 to benefit the Emma Goldman Clinic. Padley is not wedded to a specific style of music. With Elizabeth Moen, he meshes with her rootsy singer-songwriter style; with Laranja, he explores modern jazz. On Druthers he probes the […]
Dan Padley, a graduate of the University of Iowa College of Music, has been a versatile asset to Iowa City’s music scene. From touring with singer/songwriter Elizabeth Moen to performing with his band Laranja, he’s a player’s player, meshing seamlessly with the music at hand. Perfectly Whelmed seems more personal and reflective than his […]
John William Watkins, an Iowa native living in New York City, showcases his songwriting and singing in minimal acoustic arrangements on The Oracle EP, released June 21. His lyrics deal with evergreen topics of love and loneliness, from his point of view as a gay man. Watkins sings blunt, personal lyrics in a gentle, quavering voice
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Dana Telsrow, who works as an engineer at Flat Black studios, has released several albums of his own songs as Dana T. He also records and performs with Karen Meat. He’s a busy guy, with some big musical ideas. The pair of instrumental songs, the recently released “YouTube For Self-Help Idiot” and “When I Trust […]
The first thing I notice about Eric Paul’s Killer EP is guitar tone. In particular, the opening track, “Paradise of Sin,” has a wide stereo guitar sound, subtly overdriven. It’s the kind of electrified guitar sound that gives you that warm feeling when you hear it at concert volume, combined with the punchy drums that bob and weave around the guitar parts. […]
What makes Identity Crisis more than an academic exercise is Benson’s skill as a composer and producer. The production on “Bite Your Lip” and “Til You Got It” verges on EDM-tinged pop, but it has enough harmonic variety to not feel as synthetic and fake as EDM can. […]
The metal scene in Iowa City has always been a pocket universe where the boundary between fans and musicians is permeable. It’s like the bar in Cheers — where everybody knows your name — but with more long hair, tattoos and black leather. The competition between bands is to be the loudest, heaviest and tightest, not the most successful. […]
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