Whirlwind Sessions Vol. 1 by Dandelion Stompers Recently, John Kenyon — executive director of the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature organization and one of our area’s most insightful arts analysts — and I were both in the audience at the Englert for a performance by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Kenyon wrote about the […]
Album Reviews
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Album Review: Sirens and Prophets — ‘Delineations’
Delineations by Sirens and Prophets In the opening minutes of Delineations’ forlorn guitar chords, punctuated by steady drums, lead listeners in a gradual crescendo accompanied by boiling cymbals. By the halfway point of this first track, “Lines Drawn,” I’m enveloped by the album. Typically, I’m hooked by lyrics, but this opening instrumental piece (somewhat reminiscent […]
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Album Review: Wave Cage — ‘Even You Can See in the Dark’
Even You Can See in the Dark by Wave Cage “Here we orbit each other with creative collaboration,” says poet Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey on the opening and title track of Wave Cage’s new album Even You Can See in the Dark. That sentiment is central to the record itself. The band’s notes on […]
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Album Review: Sean Tyler — ‘NOR THERE’
NOR THERE by Sean Tyler I first found out about Sean Tyler from one of the great No Touching Sessions filmed at Gabe’s way back in 2020. Tyler’s been performing regularly around Iowa City ever since, and recently played at the Refocus Film Festival. Released in September, NOR THERE is his first official collection of […]
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Album Review: Lou Sherry — ‘More Now Than Then’
Lou Sherry — More Now Than Then by Lou Sherry Sometimes in life, anticipation can veer towards obsession. It was after the first time Lou Sherry played Gabe’s that I learned this lesson — as soon as the show ended, I craved a full album. The wait seemed inconceivable, but then September rolled around and, […]
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Album Review: Dave Helmer — ‘Such a Clown’
Such a Clown by Dave Helmer Looking at the cover art for Dave Helmer’s Such a Clown, I’ll be honest — I was expecting some trite country rock at best and an Insane Clown Posse knock-off at worst. What I found instead as I listened through was myself writing a plot outline for Paddington 4: […]
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Album Review: Lani — ‘Love, Lani’
Love, Lani is an aptly named album. Across nine tracks, its creator reflects on love and relationships while shifting through musical genres that are clearly dear to her. Released in late July, Love, Lani comes from Lani Eclatt, a Des Moines-based musical artist who performs simply as Lani. The first two songs are upbeat break-up […]
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Album Review: T.A.N.G. — ‘Big Bright Empty Nothing’
Big Bright Empty Nothing by T.A.N.G. Space is the place and T.A.N.G. is here to tell us about it on their 2023 release, Big Bright Empty Nothing. Recorded and mastered at Flat Black Studios by Luke Tweedy, T.A.N.G. has unleashed a doom-tinted contemplation of the cosmos and the emptiness that stares back. T.A.N.G. consists of […]
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Album Review: Andersen Coates — ‘New Lands’
New Lands by Andersen Coates Describing his debut EP New Lands, arriving Oct. 20, Iowa-based singer-songwriter Andersen Coates says his songs are born out of the sense of fear and existentialism that comes with the transition into adulthood. “I’m 24 and clueless,” he says. If these four songs are about fear and existentialism, it isn’t […]
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Album Review: Nevāda Nevada — ‘Past Life’
Past Life by Nevāda Nevada It isn’t often I review a band that isn’t heavy metal that includes a diacritical mark in its name. This one is there as a pronunciation guide: Neh-Vay-Duh Neh-Vah-Da. It indicates a particularity that carries over to the music itself. Nevāda Nevada wants to be understood, to be paid attention […]
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Album Review + Q&A: Joytrip — ‘Mr. Time and the Joyful Ploys’
“You said you didn’t want love. You said that you didn’t want nothing. I don’t think it matters at all,” wistfully recites Joytrip’s Michael Schodin on “Taken Aback,” the infectious opening song of the band’s debut EP, Mr. Time and the Joyful Ploys. Schodin, Joytrip’s vocalist and guitarist, describes the band’s sound as “road trip […]
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Album Review: Early Girl — ‘Lovers Out to Pasture’
Lovers Out to Pasture by Early Girl On their Bandcamp page, Iowa City trio Early Girl proudly proclaim to be “bringing queer aesthetics back to pop rock.” The gritty opening riff of “Green Eyes” telegraphs this plainly, immediately invoking the shimmy bop of the B-52’s iconic “Private Idaho.” But Early Girl builds on the influence […]
