When Matthew Davis died in his sleep of an aneurysm in 2003, the loss to Iowa City was larger than the death of one man. His band Ten Grand — so named because, as rumor has it, a more affluent musical group paid them an undisclosed amount to give up their former name Vidablue — was on the verge of becoming a big thing outside our small…
Music Reviews
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Reviews: The Surf Zombies – It’s a…THING!
The Surf Zombies are back with their fourth album, It’s A… THING!, which marks the second album featuring their current band lineup: Founding member Brook Hoover is on guitar along with Ian Williams from the Wheelers and the Blendours, also on guitar. There is also Tyler Russell on drums and Trevor Treiber from the Blendours on bass, replacing…
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Album Reviews: Muscle – My House is a Show
Kathleen Hanna, the singer for Bikini Kill and original Riot Grrrl, did something important around the time the women in Muscle were born: She stopped asking permission from men to define who she was. She was angry and confrontational and sexy and funny, and she rocked.
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Album Reviews: Death Ships – Turn of the Century EP
In interviews with R.E.M. around the time of their ‘92 album Automatic For The People, the band commented that it was difficult to write good uptempo…
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Album Reviews: Speakerwire Collins – The Boy Said My Name’s Johnny
Speakerwire Collins is Brian Boelman of the Miracles Of God and Iowa City’s most unpredictable guitarist, bassist and songwriter, Ed Gray. They’re the…
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Album Reviews: Coolzey – Dark Mantras
Coolzey must be very wicked, since it’s clear he gets no rest. Sandwiched in between all the other musical activities he’s dropped Dark Mantras, which contains 13 short hip-hop instrumentals. This is more a beat tape than an album proper; each track is a live performance on his Akai MPC1000 Sampler…
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Album Reviews: In Rooms – The Night Has Come
Heather and Nick Leo form the core of the Des Moines-based tropical pop band, In Rooms. While they describe their sound as a mash-up of dub legend King Tubby and Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa, their new album The Night Has Come does not reference either of these artists. The Leos instead reference those artists’ musical regions. The eight songs on this brief, very gentle album pull from Latin American genres like Música Popular Brasileira (MPB), cumbia and bossa nova as well as reggae—but rocksteady rather than dub…
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Album Reviews: The Post Mortems – Cracked and Crooked
I recently reviewed a new record from Acoustic Guillotine, who, like The Post Mortems, comprise a drummer and bassist. The Post Mortems don’t sound at all like Acoustic Guillotine; apparently even the most stripped-down of instrumentation contains many possibilities. The Post Mortems’ sound is defined by a clean bass tone and tom-heavy drums. They remind me a bit of Soundgarden: Devin Alexander’s voice has some of Chris Cornell’s operatic…
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Elite 8: The best albums of 2013
2013 was a fertile year for music. Rap came strong with ASAP Rocky’s debut, the El-P and Killer Mike Run the Jewels collab and more toughboy posturing from Pusha T. Disclosure kept the dancefloor hot with its improbable ‘90s house flashback while Rhye kept bedrooms steamy with their Sade-inspired R&B jams. Janelle Monae stepped forth […]
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Album Reviews: Greg Brown – The Iowa Waltz, 30th anniversary edition
It is apropos that I’m writing this while sitting in a quiet corner of a warm house during the holidays, revisiting Greg Brown’s 1981 album The Iowa Waltz with…
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Album Reviews: Buffalows – Woe Isn’t Me
Buffalows is Landon Strause, Brooks Strause and Adam Bolts. The Brothers Strause are best known for the formidable Old Scratch Revival Singers, a very freaky, psychedelic take on old time gospel revival. Buffalows has a simpler sound, centered in old-timey country music. I’m not sure who writes the songs, but I hear some of Brooks’ infallible roots-pop ear for melody. The simple acoustic (except for pedal steel guitar) arrangements and close harmony serve the songs well.
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Reviews: Contraption – I
Contraption is Joe McNertney and Eric Rohn (a.k.a. The Noble Octopus), who have blazed their own wayward musical paths over the past few years, self-releasing their slanted pop music. They’re a pair of Iowa Citians for whom music is an avocation, pursued when time can be stolen away from day jobs and family obligations.
