Wet Hair Spill Into Atmosphere De Stijl Records Wet Hair’s fourth LP, Spill Into Atmosphere, is the band’s most accessible to date—a claim I lavished on their third album, 2011’s In Vogue Spirit. The Iowa City trio soldiers along, refining their Krautrock infused ragga even further. Justin Thye (Goldendust) has joined Shawn Reed and Ryan […]
Album Reviews
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Album Review: Noble Octopus – Like An Island
Noble Octopus Like An Island virb.com/nobleoctopus Since I’ve been writing music reviews for over a decade, I get to hear more than one album from some musicians. In 2009 I reviewed Noble Octopus’ self-titled debut and said of it “The weakest link on the album is the singing. It can be perfect for the material, […]
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Album Review: Colloquialisms – Nothing Remarkable
Colloquialisms Nothing Remarkable colloquialisms.bandcamp.com You may know the man behind Colloquialisms, Joe McNertney, if you shop at the New Pioneer Food Co-op, as the beardy guy behind the meat counter. He’s also Eric Rohn’s collaborator in Noble Octopus, and the two albums share similar silk-screened recycled cardboard covers. But despite some similar gestures, Colloquialisms is […]
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Album Review: Aseethe – Reverent Burden
Aseethe Reverent Burden www.aseethecreation.com With its debut full-length, Reverent Burden, Iowa City drone metal outfit Aseethe finally has enough wax to stretch out and show their stuff. The album is comprised of two mysterious, side-long pieces on a vinyl, without track titles or even clearly marked a or b sides. Aseethe opens the longer of […]
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Album Review: Caterwaulla
Caterwaulla Self-Titled facebook.com/caterwaulla Since I was born in 1957, my life corresponds approximately to the life-span of rock and roll. In that 55-plus years, there have been times when rock has seemed to be tired and played out. But there’s always some snotty group of kids who come along and beat it back into shape. […]
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Album Review: Tom Garland – Leash Your Kids
Tom Garland Leash Your Kids tomgarlandcomedy.com Tom Garland is no stranger to the Iowa City comedic scene. Emcee of the Yacht Club’s weekly comedy night, One Night Stand, the stand-up performer and touring comic has fully embraced and helped expand on what Iowa City has to offer up-and-coming comics. Garland has opened for such acts […]
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Album Review: Surf Zombies – Lust for Rust
Surf Zombies Lust For Rust facebook.com/surfzombiesband My dad tells a story about seeing the seminal surf-rock band The Ventures at the Melody Mill Ballroom outside of Dubuque in the early 1960s. He happened upon a comb on the sink in the bathroom left by the band. He picked it up and shortly after sold […]
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Album Reviews: Slip Silo – Monsoons / Koplant No – Transit EP
Slip Silo and Koplant No are two local groups which share two members (Brian Lewis on trumpet, keyboards and laptop, Drew Morton on bass, synth and vocals) with adjacent releases. This invites a classic English Final “Contrast and Compare” review. Firstly, Slip Silo (also starring Matt Logan on vocals and guitar and Justin Leduc […]
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Album Review: Exposed Fiction
Exposed Fiction Exposed Fiction www.exposedfiction.com Exposed Fiction’s self-titled debut album arrived at my house with a big crack through the middle. It’s romantic to imagine the music is that powerful, but it’s more likely the Postal Service or our intrepid publisher Mr. Steele broke it accidentally before dropping it off. No matter. You can listen […]
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Album Review: The Twelve Canons – Volume 4: Sacrifice
The Twelve Canons Volume 4: Sacrifice thetwelvecanons.bandcamp.com The Twelve Canons is currently singer/songwriter Jim Durocher and multi-instrumentalist Justin Norman. Volume 4: Sacrifice came with a note from Norman that mentioned “FYI it was recorded in a mental institute.” Jim Durocher’s personal demons are no secret around Iowa City, but it’s not my place to air […]
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Album Review: Jason T. Lewis – The Fourteenth Colony
Jason T. Lewis The Fourteenth Colony http://www.sadironpress.com/ A common problem fiction writers have with musician characters is that if the author isn’t a skilled songwriter, then the character is much less believable. Never mind the fact that we never really know what the character’s songs would sound like, either. Iowa City author and musician Jason […]
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Album Review/Interview: Oberhofer – Time Capsules II
Brad Oberhofer| 7:00pm | Yacht C lub | $8 | 19+ Even though Brad Oberhofer makes sweeping swathes of ornate, indie-pop, he hardly comes off as the dramatic frontman–with heart stitched on sleeve–he presents on his debut LP, Time Capsules II. Oberhofer spoke fairly quietly, at a measured pace when we talked in mid February. The Novocaine from the […]
