Adaptasia by Zap Tura With every surge of the pandemic, a soundtrack emerges. Cyclical soundtracks, in fact. First, warm, optimistic fear foists celebrity covers of “Imagine” onto us all. Then, months of winter mark dour observations as people spend time with themselves looking at the brash remains that they all share. Rinse, repeat, release until […]
Album Reviews
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: James Tutson — ‘Still’
James Tutson did not get any chairs to turn with his blind audition performance on The Voice in March of this year. But those who have heard the Iowa City musician — live or on record — know that his sometimes sweet and sometimes raw vocal tone and thoughtfully creative lyrics have the ability to […]
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Album Review: Justin K Comer & the Unblessed Rest of Us — (self-titled EP)
Justin K Comer & the Unblessed Rest of Us by Justin K Comer & the Unblessed Rest of Us When Gabi Vanek announced on Facebook that the catch-all Ox Cart project would be formalized into a new Iowa City experimental music label, the skies opened and angels sang. Well, not technically. But I might have […]
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Album Review: Anthony Worden & the Illiterati — ‘How Could We Lose When We’re So Sincere?’
How Could We Lose When We're So Sincere? by Anthony Worden and the Illiterati In 1968, the Turtles released the album The Turtles Present the Battle Of The Bands, a cartoonish concept album that yielded the hit “Caroline.” Every song on the album was by a different invented group, each with its own style. Anthony […]
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Album Review: Dead Ensign — ‘Q: What Else Is There To Do?’
Q: What Else Is There To Do? by DEAD ENSIGN The first five seconds of Dead Ensign’s Q: What Else Is There To Do? give me a powerful sense of foreboding I haven’t felt from a piece of music since Thom Yorke’s Suspiria (Music for the Luca Guadagnino Film). “Can you feel it?” the vocalist […]
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Album Review: MAAAZE — ‘MAAAZE Vol. I’ EP
Some in Iowa City might recognize Dan Miller as a fixture at Gabe’s Oasis, hosting open mic nights every Tuesday with house band Next Door Four, as well as having played for the last several years in his group Doc Miller. Others might recognize him as the videographer from the live music series No Touching […]
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Album Review: Jim Swim — ‘New Tattoo’ EP
New Tattoo by Jim Swim Jim Swim is not new to the Iowa hip-hop scene. He performs all over the state, but during the day he teaches middle school kids about the importance of learning grammar and proper English. It is only natural he would take his verbal skills to the microphone. His latest release, […]
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Album Review and Q&A: Alex Ramsey — ‘Bonsai’
Bonsai by Alex Ramsey Alex Ramsey has been a mainstay of the collective of Eastern Iowa’s folk and country blues community, either as a member of the Pines (who seem to be on a sabbatical) with his brother Benson and David Huckfelt or contributing his keyboard prowess on releases from acts like Mason Jennings and […]
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Album Review and Q&A: Traffic Death — ‘Judas Curse of the Iron Sabbath’
Look, it’s no surprise to anybody that I nearly broke the internet trying to get my hands on the new Traffic Death album (Ed. note: The album is available for preorder on the Bandcamp page for Sump Pump Records. Once physical copies are available, the band will have them at shows). I’m not going to […]
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Album Review and Q&A: Good Morning Midnight — ‘Songs of Violence’
Songs Of Violence by Good Morning Midnight Good Morning Midnight’s latest album is expansive. Songs of Violence is an aural road trip down county highways in an unfamiliar wood. It is a definitive Midwestern rock album. Singer-songwriter Charlie Cacciatore explained the sound over a pilsner at George’s Buffet on a recent summer afternoon: “When I […]
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Album Review and Q&A: ENGLISH — ‘Mona Lucy’
Mona Lucy by ENGLISH The Des Moines-based band ENGLISH began a few years ago when guitarist and vocalist Chris English assembled a group to record some songs he’d written to commemorate 25 years of remission from childhood cancer. English enlisted Justin Goes on bass, Russ Tomlinson on drums, Hans Decker on trumpet and Tommy Doggett […]
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Album Review: Strong Like Bear — ‘In the Future Only the Rich Will Live Forever’
In The Future Only The Rich Will Live Forever by Strong Like Bear The dystopian cyberpunk delight of Carmen Cerra’s cover art is the first thing you’ll love about Strong Like Bear’s June release, In the Future Only the Rich Will Live Forever. The world is more organic than the man; the walls have tendrils […]
