Album Reviews
Posted inAlbum Reviews

Album reviews: Dick Prall – Dickie

by Michael Roeder

Since 1998 Dick Prall has been spinning his particular flavor of “sad bastard” pop music (to quote Barry from the film High Fidelity). A couple of brilliant power pop releases, a few polished singer-songwriter releases (including a minor hit “The Cornflakes Song” with Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket) and now he’s back with a new project…

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Album Review: Jeff Miguel – Perserverance

by Kent Williams

Saxophonist Jeff Miguel is a recent graduate of the University of Iowa jazz studies program, which has in recent years spawned bands like Euforquestra and Koplant No. Perserverance collects eight of Miguel’s own compositions, which is a gutsy move in the context of traditional jazz, a genre where musicians are still finding something new in standards from the last century…

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Album Review: Mad Monks – The Dark Retreat

by Michael Roeder

Mad Monks The Dark Retreat facebook.com/MadMonks Mention “concept album” and many will picture the recorded excess of bands like The Who, Rush, Styx, Pink Floyd, Yes, ELP — the list is endless. Sometimes it’s done well, but the need to squeeze in an overwrought story oftentimes compromises the overall work. Iowa City band Mad Monks […]

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Album Review: Barry Phipps – The Town

by Matthew Steele

The needle drops on Barry Phipps’ The Town and an uplifting organ crackles and pops, skipping its way through a brief instrumental intro and sighing toward a jolly, aptly titled “Sunny Sunday Afternoon.” It may feel a bit too twee for a spring 2015 release, but it is catchy and beautifully arranged, and repeat listens create an emotional reassurance rooted in a kind of imagined nostalgia; it’s as if a past that can’t be placed is painting a future for us of daily routines carried out with care and civility, and neighbors remembering to love before being left to miss one another.

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Album Reviews: Younger – Self-titled

by Kembrew McLeod

The self-titled debut by Iowa City trio Younger nicely balances intricate arrangements with more hooks than a box full of fishing tackle. Many of their songs contain verse-chorus-verse-defying breakdowns and changes, though without sounding busy or proggy, like on the album’s lead track, “Street Rat.” Similarly, “Clash” begins with a lilting guitar riff and rumbling bass line that propels the first two verses before switching gears halfway through—slowing the tempo and descending into a spiral of three-part harmonized, interlocking bah-bah-baaaah vocals.

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