Beyond Peace Beyond Peace beyondpeacehc.bandcamp.com Beyond Peace by Beyond PeaceIt’s not original to compare metal and punk music. Both use loudness as their primary gesture, both use distortion pedals, both employ screamy vocals. However, Beyond Peace’s sound draws on both genres, which heightens the intensity of the music. Rather than the verse/chorus/verse of punk rock, […]
Local Music Reviews
Posted inAlbum Reviews, Arts & Entertainment
Album Review: Colleen — Vol. 1
Colleen Vol. 1 soundcloud.com/colleenband/sets/vol-1 Colleen is a Cedar Rapids-based husband and wife duo that delivers a beautiful, often soaring mix of bombastic live percussion and electronics buoying silvery vocals. Heather and Tyler Stück built excitement over the past months by releasing two of the tracks as singles in the lead-up to their new 4-track EP, […]
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Album Review: Aseethe — Hopes of Failure
Aseethe Hopes of Failure aseethe.bandcamp.com/album/hopes-of-failure Iowa City trio Aseethe — Brian Barr, Danny Barr and Eric Diercks — broke last summer when they signed to Chicago’s Thrill Jockey Records (Future Islands, the Fiery Furnaces, Trans Am). The band drops its first album on that label on Feb. 24, and returns to Iowa City for a […]
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Album Review: Night Pits — Last Night Forever
Night Pits Last Night Forever nightpits.bandcamp.com Last Night Forever by Night Pits Writing a punk anthem is a fundamentally communitarian act. The idea is that anyone — whether they think they can sing or not — can and will be screaming along in one joyous voice. If only for 20 sweaty minutes in a darkened […]
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Album Review: TIRES — LP1
TIRES LP1 tires.bandcamp.com LP1 by TiresThe big, anthemic sound of Phil Young’s (the Wheelers) new instrumental project TIRES was inspired by the recent passing of his grandfather. “He was kinda a cranky old guy to me most of my life,” Young told me in online chat. “We were one of the only families that didn’t […]
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Album Review: Belly Belt — Stay True
Belly Belt Stay True EP bellybelt.bandcamp.com Stay True by Belly Belt Iowa City West High alum Kate Feldmann’s Belly Belt isn’t miles away from her day job dressing as a Disney Princess for children’s birthday parties. She adopts personas, she plays make-believe, she toys with identity as she did on her previous album, Bangers. The […]
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Album Review: Idpyramid — Dawn Rider II
Idpyramid Dawn Rider II idpyramid.bandcamp.com Dawn Rider II by Idpyramid Idpyramid is Quad Cities musician and composer Dennis Hockaday (formerly of Mondo Drag and Bedroom Shrine). He recently released Dawn Rider II through Chicago experimental tape label Eye Vybe Records, the second installation of adventurous, soundtrack-y synth pieces (Dawn Rider I was released on cassette […]
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Album Review: The Pines — Pasture II
The Pines Pasture II thepinesmusic.com During live shows the Pines will drop in traditional and cover songs, seemingly as much for their entertainment as for the audience. In 2015, they released an EP of some of these songs titled Pasture: Folk Songs, which included songs from Joe Price, Mance Lipscomb, Iris Dement and Greg Brown. […]
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Album Review: Jack Lion — ION
Jack Lion ION soundcloud.com/jacklion ION by Jack Lion Jack Lion, Iowa City’s darlings of downtempo ambient jazz electronica, released their new ION EP last month. The group, which consists of drummer Justin LeDuc, trumpeter and producer Brian Lewis Smith and bassist Drew Morton, formed in the early ’00s, and the members use their background in […]
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Album Review: King of the Tramps — Cumplir con el Diablo
King of the Tramps Cumplir con el Diablo kingofthetramps.com Cumplir con el Diablo by King Of The Tramps Amidst the storm of internet reaction the day after the elections last month, I received an email from Todd Partridge, frontman for Auburn, Iowa band King of the Tramps, with the download for their latest album. He […]
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Album Review: Karen Meat — She’s Drunk Like the Rest of Us EP
Karen Meat She’s Drunk Like the Rest of Us EP karenmeat.bandcamp.com She's Drunk Like the Rest of Us by Karen Meat Karen Meat is a pop genius. Karen Meat sings a lot about barf. Karen Meat is not her real name — Arin Eaton is. If you peruse her music on Bandcamp, you’ll hear someone […]
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Album Review: Anthony Worden — Demos
Anthony Worden Demos anthonyworden.bandcamp.com When I saw Anthony — aka A.J. Worden, formerly of Bull Black Nova — perform at The Mill recently, I was struck by how he sometimes sounds a little like Lou Reed. With Reed, you always hear the limitations of his voice. Worden is an actual singer, who confidently hits and […]
