Angle Talkin’ Story angle1.bandcamp.com Longtime Iowa hip hop artist Angle (aka Jarid Catrenich) is at it again. Following on the heels of last year’s Definitive Bedtime Stories is his newest effort, Talkin’ Story. Angle is a storyteller, and uses his beats as punctuation for gritty tales that need to be heard. Unlike the happier vibes […]
Local Music Reviews
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Album Review: Jim Swim — Half Woke
Jim Swim Half Woke EP itsjimswim.bandcamp.com/releases Half Woke EP by Jim Swim Hip hop came to Iowa City in the boom box on the shoulder of celebrated University of Iowa basketball player Ronnie Lester, blasting the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” in 1979. Ever since then, hip hop culture has been passed down from MC to […]
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Album Review: Brendan Hanks — Through
Brendan Hanks Through soundcloud.com/brendanhanks Brendan Hanks’ new EP Through is a really intelligent record. It is measured and studied, and it’s obvious that Hanks has had a long love affair with electronica. It’s not showy. It doesn’t grab you out of your seat immediately and force you to dance, but it does worm its way […]
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Album Review: Flannel Season — Back Amongst the Dirt
Flannel Season Back Amongst the Dirt flannelseason.bandcamp.com I hear rumors that the ’90s are “in” again. Things seem to run in roughly 20 year cycles. When I was a kid in the ’80s, we were all obsessed with the ’60s; now my teenager tells me how lucky I was to have been a teen in […]
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Album Review: SIRES — Soul For Sale
SIRES Soul For Sale dsandn.com Dylan Sires is a sellout. Or, at least that is what he wants you to believe. After a few years slugging it out as Dylan Sires and Neighbors, the Waterloo three-piece with a penchant for ’50s and ’60s rock and pop is laying all their cards on the table with […]
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Album Review: Quick Piss — Rock n Roll Impotence
Quick Piss Rock n Roll Impotence www.quickpiss.com Grab your brown bag and slip into the mosh pit. Des Moines-based basement dwellers Quick Piss have released their first studio album, Rock n Roll Impotence. Some songs have more teeth than others. The eponymous opening track comes in fast and thrashing, while “Thoroughly Fucked” leads with trembling […]
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Album Review: Kasper Hauser — Last Ghosts
Kaspar Hauser Last Ghosts www.kasparhauserchicago.bandcamp.com/album/last-ghosts Kaspar Hauser was formed in Iowa City in 1999, led by singer/songwriter Thomas Comerford. Since the last Kaspar Hauser album, The Sons (2009), Comerford has put out two solo records and juggled performing live with his day job teaching film-making. Last Ghosts, recorded mostly live in a Chicago basement studio, […]
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Album Review: Bo Ramsey — Wildwood Calling
Bo Ramsey Wildwood Calling www.boramsey.com There is an adage in guitar circles that says, “Tone is in the hands.” In other words, the unique sound of a guitarist comes from how they play and not the gear they use. Nowhere is this more evident than with Bo Ramsey’s very distinctive guitar tone and sound — […]
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Album Review: MAIDS — These Days EP
MAIDS These Days EP www.thisismaids.com Danny Heggen and Mickey Davis are the Des Moines electronic pop band MAIDS. They’ve been collaborating since 2012 on singles and some inspired remixes for bands including Iowa artists Land of Blood and Sunshine and the Envy Corps. MAIDS latest release, a 5-track EP titled These Days, serves as a […]
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Album Review: The Maytags — Love Lines
The Maytags Love Lines www.themaytags.com Seven-piece Des Moines band The Maytags continues their rise to the top of the modern soul scene with their full-length debut, Love Lines, out July 1. Frontman Dustin Smith told me in February that, when recording all in analog (as this album was done) there’s “no excuse not to have […]
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Album Review: TWINS — Square America
TWINS Square America www.facebook.com/Twinstheband Iowa’s very own princes of guitar pop are back with another slab of black vinyl densely grooved with their trademark harmonies and chugging guitars. Their 2014 album Tomboys on Parade was a smart collection of guitar pop that I described in my Little Village review as being a “survey of power […]
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Album Review: Blake Shaw — Listen Hear
Blake Shaw Listen Hear www.blakeshawbass.com Listen Hear is the latest release from Iowa City composer/musician Blake Shaw. Recorded at Flat Black Studios, Listen Hear is an incredibly accessible jazz album featuring a strong quintet of players with Shaw on the upright bass, Dan Padley on guitar, Nolan Schroeder and Ryan Smith on respective woodwinds and […]
