Buzzfeed, a popular web destination for those who want to browse the internet but also want to avoid reading, recently posted a list of four Iowa bands you’ve never heard of. And, surprise surprise, they were bands that all of us have heard of. Bands that play frequently to big, enthusiastic crowds — like Annalibera, who played a huge set at 80/35 this year. Or bands, like John June Year and Dustin Smith and the Sunday Silos, who have beautifully produced music videos care of DEFT Productions.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the mostly straight-forward guitar-based indie rock bands listed in the Buzzfeed article. But the article’s headline begs the question — what about the Iowa bands that you really haven’t heard of? Perhaps because the artists’ simply had a creative impulse and just wanted to make music. Or they have no desire to get on a stage and play live. Or maybe they’re just too weird and bizarre for any audience to hear.
Here are four Iowa acts that aren’t just flying under your radar — they’re digging to the center of the earth.
Thirst Curfew
Iowa City’s Thirst Curfew exists in a purgatorial space. Are they really a band? If so, who is in it? I’ve never seen them live, and I owe that to the fact that they seem to never perform at all. However, they’ve got 19 releases on their bandcamp page, running the gamut of hip-hop beats, drone, and psych noise nonsense.
Some of it borders on the unlistenable. But the breadth of their work almost guarantees a few moments of transcendence — such as on the album closer “Difficult, Guilty Dicks” from CRIMSON CIRCUMCISION, where within seven and a half minutes, they carry a hip-hop beat kicking and screaming through a world of stoner metal, minimal ambience, and finally hardcore punk annihilation.
Outside of their music, short and strange transmissions are left to describe their bandcamp releases. One reads: “THIS ENTIRE ALBUM WAS CHANNELED THROUGH US. WE HAD NO AGENCY IN THE MATTER AND NO MEMORY OF THIS RECORDING.”
Give it a listen and you’ll feel compelled to believe them.
Bacon
Sioux City’s Bacon, a three-piece made up of Sean Knittle, Sam Johnson and Jenny Bauerly, at least played shows occasionally. Those who have seen Sean Knittle’s other band, the impeccably offensive Chunder, might know what they’re getting into with Bacon. Their most popular song (and that’s using the words “popular” and “song” rather loosely), “Sizzle ‘Til You Puke,” finds Knittle shouting the word “Bacon!” over and over again at a break-neck pace.
On their latest release, Hungry Again, Sam and Jenny keep the rhythm section sludgy and crusty, and they give the songs an energy that allows the audience to feel like they’re in on the joke.
Bee Mills
If you’re looking for a band whose entire discography could be consumed while you’re stuck at a red light, Iowa City’s Bee Mills is right up your alley. Their one release, …I Have All the Ingredients is 5 minutes of youthful revelry, capturing the feeling you get at 1 a.m., you’re half in the bag, and you and your friends all decide to start a band, because why the hell not? There’s some vague, angry political edge to their lyrics and song titles, but their sloppy Guided By Voices meets Black Flag sound ensures it’s all in good fun.
Dino Mannone
If Irwin Chusid were to re-write Songs in the Key of Z, his essential guide to outsider music, he would be wise to include a chapter on Iowa City lounge singer Dino Mannone. Dino is more performance artist than anything else. He has a questionable back-story — one where he sang back-up vocals in the band Crystal Grass, got caught up in a life of drugs and then had several failed “comeback” attempts (one of which was a cancelled appearance on The Tonight Show). He dresses garishly, with slicked-back hair and wrap-around sunglasses and Goodwill leisure suits. He calls everyone “baby” and coughs violently before answering questions.
All of this wouldn’t be half as interesting if it weren’t for how good his songs actually are. He sounds like Tom Jones, if he were being possessed by the ghost of Salvador Dali. Indeed, a wonked-out version of Tom Jones’ “What’s New Pussycat” frequently appears in Mannone’s set list.
Then there are his original songs, with their so-cheesy-it’s-good funk basslines and synth pads, and absurd lyrics. Stand-out track “Naperville” has some perfect lines — “My dad is an executive, but we still had it tough / Growin’ up with just a million dollars made it rough / I got everything I ever wanted but I still earned it all / By asking dad for money then driving to the mall.”
Recordings are hard to track down, with just an in-studio performance at KRUI available online, but he performs semi-regularly at The Mill’s Open Mic Night and is known to give out CD-Rs.
