Roots of Rhythm by Elizabeth Zimmerman The first song on Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Roots Of Rhythm, “The Journey,” is just her voice and piano. It brings Judee Sill immediately to mind. It combines pleasant, subtly modulated vocal style with an intricately worked melody and introspective lyrics. She presents to the listener as an inviting, fascinating mystery. […]
Kent Williams
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Album Review: Elizabeth Moen — ‘Creature of Habit’ EP
Liz Moen’s origin story, as relayed to me by Luke Tweedy of Flat Black Studios, begins before she recorded a single note. He said she decided to record an album of her own songs, and in short order she was at Flat Black with a band she had just formed. She came to that debut […]
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Album Review: Ben Driscoll — ‘Unseen Danger’
UNSEEN DANGER by Ben Driscoll I don’t know if it’s a conscious influence, but the music and moody atmosphere of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks come immediately to mind listening to “Muleville,” the lead-off track on Ben Driscoll’s Unseen Danger. The tremolo guitar is an Angelo Badalamenti favorite, and the cooing backing vocals from Katherine Ruestow […]
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Album Review: Paul Cary — ‘Raven’
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 […]
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Album Review: Tall Doozy — ‘Sad Girls With Bible Names’
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 […]
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Book Review: ‘They Said This Day Would Never Come’ by Chris Liddell-Westefeld
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
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Album Review: Douglas Kramer Nye — ‘The End is Nye’
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.
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Video premiere: Anthony Worden and the Illiterati, ‘The Slightest Notion’
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.”
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Album Review: Dan Padley — ‘Druthers’ (out Nov. 1)
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
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Album Review: Dan Padley — ‘Perfectly Whelmed’
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
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Album Review: John William Watkins — ‘The Oracle’ EP
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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Track premiere: Dana T’s “When I Trust The Written Word”
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 […]
