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. […]
Album reviews
Posted inAlbum Reviews
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 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 […]
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Album Review: Kelly Pardekooper – Yonder
An oft-quoted rule-of-thumb for writers is “write what you know.” Great written works are usually imbued with a strong sense of place derived from the writer’s ability to pull that little bit of themselves in–people, places, conversations, situations. Kelly Pardekooper lived in Iowa most of his life and recorded five albums of Grade-A Iowa Americana. […]
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Album Review: The Pines – Dark So Gold
I’ve been a dedicated follower of former-Iowa City band The Pines since their first album came out on Dave Zollo’s late record label, Trailer Records, in 2004. Benson Ramsey and David Huckfelt have since recorded three albums for Red House Records—a label with a famous affinity for the Iowa City folk and blues scene. Each […]
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Album Review: Grism – Social Obligations
Grism is a group comprised of Zach Lint (aka Coolzey of the Sucker MCs), Grace Locke Ward (Petit Mal, Leslie & The LY’s, Etsy.com superstar), Rachel Feldman and Kate Kane (Lipstick Homicide). They’re longtime friends and members of the recombinant scrum of rock bands in Iowa City. Even though Grism is a vehicle for Zach’s […]
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Album Review: Cuticle – Mother Rhythm Earth Memory
This release by Cuticle (aka Brendan O’Keefe) is notable in the first place because it will be released on Not Not Fun, a well-respected boutique label, known internationally for adventurous releases on vinyl and cassette. Mother Rhythm Earth Memory will be limited to 500 vinyl records; I hope the vinyl will be followed by a […]
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Album Review/Show Preview: Blind Pilot at the Blue Moose, 2/2/12
Blind Pilot is a six-piece musical group from Portland, OR, which started its touring career bicycling up and down the West Coast. Israel Nebeker leads with his gorgeous voice and warm acoustic guitar, while the rest of the band adds eclectic instrumentation like banjo, upright bass, vibraphone, trumpet, and harmonium. Their bright, uplifting music is […]
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Album Review: Thomas Comerford – Archive + Spiral
Thomas Comerford Archive + Spiral www.thomascomerford.bandcamp.com As the principal singer and songwriter in the band Kaspar Hauser, Thomas Comerford has built a reputation for his inventive take on roots rock. Archive + Spiral is less rocking and more country, with a vibe more living room than rock club. Comerford’s slightly nasal baritone recalls Lou Reed […]
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Album Review: T'Bone – Mount Trashmore
T’Bone is based in Chicago, but is made up of Iowa natives Leland Meiners (bass), Ed Bornstein (drums) and Pat McPartland (guitar), and their album Mount Trashmore was recorded in Iowa City at Luke Tweedy’s Flat Black Studio. Chicago, birthplace of seminal post rock bands like Tortoise and Gastr Del Sol, is an apt home for these guys, whose songs follow their own crooked paths, leaving pop song conventions far behind.
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Album Review: John Rapson – Mystery and Manners
Questions of authenticity and the creative process have long been pressed on fans of modern music, especially electronic music. File sharing and digital manipulation change the collaborative process and force listeners to ask how important human playing, human authorship and human interaction are to creating what we call music. Is collaboration collaborative when it is […]
