Belly Belt Stay True EP bellybelt.bandcamp.com Stay True by Belly Belt Iowa City West High alum Kate Feldmann’s Belly Belt isn’t miles away from her day job dressing as a Disney Princess for children’s birthday parties. She adopts personas, she plays make-believe, she toys with identity as she did on her previous album, Bangers. The […]
Album Reviews
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Album Review: Idpyramid — Dawn Rider II
Idpyramid Dawn Rider II idpyramid.bandcamp.com Dawn Rider II by Idpyramid Idpyramid is Quad Cities musician and composer Dennis Hockaday (formerly of Mondo Drag and Bedroom Shrine). He recently released Dawn Rider II through Chicago experimental tape label Eye Vybe Records, the second installation of adventurous, soundtrack-y synth pieces (Dawn Rider I was released on cassette […]
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Album Review: The Pines — Pasture II
The Pines Pasture II thepinesmusic.com During live shows the Pines will drop in traditional and cover songs, seemingly as much for their entertainment as for the audience. In 2015, they released an EP of some of these songs titled Pasture: Folk Songs, which included songs from Joe Price, Mance Lipscomb, Iris Dement and Greg Brown. […]
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Album Review: JCϟjp — Self-titled
JCϟjp JCϟjp jcjp.bandcamp.com/releases JCϟjp by JCϟjp The name JCϟjp is an unpronounceable acronym of the group members’ names, Justin Comer and Jason Palamara. Palamara is a violinist and electronic musician currently working as a lecturer at Iowa State University. Comer is a saxophonist and electronic musician who is one of the people behind the eclectic […]
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Album Review: Jack Lion — ION
Jack Lion ION soundcloud.com/jacklion ION by Jack Lion Jack Lion, Iowa City’s darlings of downtempo ambient jazz electronica, released their new ION EP last month. The group, which consists of drummer Justin LeDuc, trumpeter and producer Brian Lewis Smith and bassist Drew Morton, formed in the early ’00s, and the members use their background in […]
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Album Review: King of the Tramps — Cumplir con el Diablo
King of the Tramps Cumplir con el Diablo kingofthetramps.com Cumplir con el Diablo by King Of The Tramps Amidst the storm of internet reaction the day after the elections last month, I received an email from Todd Partridge, frontman for Auburn, Iowa band King of the Tramps, with the download for their latest album. He […]
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Album Review: Karen Meat — She’s Drunk Like the Rest of Us EP
Karen Meat She’s Drunk Like the Rest of Us EP karenmeat.bandcamp.com She's Drunk Like the Rest of Us by Karen Meat Karen Meat is a pop genius. Karen Meat sings a lot about barf. Karen Meat is not her real name — Arin Eaton is. If you peruse her music on Bandcamp, you’ll hear someone […]
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Album Review: Anthony Worden — Demos
Anthony Worden Demos anthonyworden.bandcamp.com When I saw Anthony — aka A.J. Worden, formerly of Bull Black Nova — perform at The Mill recently, I was struck by how he sometimes sounds a little like Lou Reed. With Reed, you always hear the limitations of his voice. Worden is an actual singer, who confidently hits and […]
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Album Review: Angle — Talkin’ Story
Angle Talkin’ Story angle1.bandcamp.com Longtime Iowa hip hop artist Angle (aka Jarid Catrenich) is at it again. Following on the heels of last year’s Definitive Bedtime Stories is his newest effort, Talkin’ Story. Angle is a storyteller, and uses his beats as punctuation for gritty tales that need to be heard. Unlike the happier vibes […]
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Album Review: Jim Swim — Half Woke
Jim Swim Half Woke EP itsjimswim.bandcamp.com/releases Half Woke EP by Jim Swim Hip hop came to Iowa City in the boom box on the shoulder of celebrated University of Iowa basketball player Ronnie Lester, blasting the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” in 1979. Ever since then, hip hop culture has been passed down from MC to […]
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Album Review: Brendan Hanks — Through
Brendan Hanks Through soundcloud.com/brendanhanks Brendan Hanks’ new EP Through is a really intelligent record. It is measured and studied, and it’s obvious that Hanks has had a long love affair with electronica. It’s not showy. It doesn’t grab you out of your seat immediately and force you to dance, but it does worm its way […]
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Album Review: Flannel Season — Back Amongst the Dirt
Flannel Season Back Amongst the Dirt flannelseason.bandcamp.com I hear rumors that the ’90s are “in” again. Things seem to run in roughly 20 year cycles. When I was a kid in the ’80s, we were all obsessed with the ’60s; now my teenager tells me how lucky I was to have been a teen in […]
