You can’t talk about the history of music in Iowa without mentioning the seminal (and sadly defunct) grassroots record label Trailer Records, started by Iowa City musician David Zollo. Recently […]
Album Reviews
Posted inAlbum Reviews
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 […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
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 […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Abbie Sawyer — ‘Persimmon’
Persimmon by Abbie Sawyer Sitting and listening to Abbie Sawyer’s Persimmon was a blissful experience. It feels like frolicking on the first warm day of spring after a dreadful winter […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Cory Peak — ‘Computer Image’
Computer Image by Cory Peak Cory Peak has to be one of Iowa’s most adventurous artists. Probably best known as the bassist for the grindcore/emoviolence powerhouse that is Closet Witch, […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
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 […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Margaret Driscal — ‘Mommy Planet’
Mommy Planet by Margaret Driscal Dystopian fiction tends towards themes of technocratic authoritarianism, the persecution of marginalized groups and generally, bad vibes. There is often a Byronic hero or some […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Lex Leto x Christine Burke Ensemble — ‘I am here but I must go’
I am here but I must go by Lex Leto x The Christine Burke Ensemble Lex Leto has released their highly anticipated second studio album, I am here but I […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Moscow Puzzles — ‘Vast Space of the Interior’
Vast Space of the Interior by Moscow Puzzles Instrumental rock music has always been a little underground. From its origins in surf rock to the many post-rock bands of today, […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: xco$mox — ‘Just Keep Swimming’
[Just Keep Swimming], the latest EP from Des Moines rapper xco$mox (pronounced cosmo) pulls you in almost instantly and rolls right into the end credits so fast, it takes you […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Lady Igraine — ‘Unum’
The freshly imagined Unum starts and ends in essentially the same way. The soundscape for opening track “Tempest” fades in with one note like it’s revving up for a chorus of guitars, while closing track “A Thousand Armies,” after exploding into one last instrumental jam break, has its final guitar chord prolonged, slowed down and fading.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Album Review: Ion Alexakis — ‘Broken Glass’ EP
It’s crazy to think that hip hop is 50 years old. It’s global, ubiquitous. Including in Iowa. Ion Alexakis — though much younger than hip hop — has been active […]
