Soil Compilation

Music
The Return of ASAP Rocky, “Don’t be Dumb” Album Review

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After eight years of radio silence, rapper, producer, model and fashion designer ASAP Rocky finally released his latest studio album “Don’t be Dumb”. After a couple of listens, the album certainly demonstrated its charm and charisma. While it wasn’t quite up to par with his earlier records, it’s still a great listen on its own. 

Film
Iowa City Free Week 2026 Preview

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Free Week returns to Iowa City from February 16-22, 2026! An expansive and sprawling celebration of the arts here in our town, with performances, workshops, screenings, and more, free for all! Here are our day-by-day highlights.

Music
Interview: Sierra Hull

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KRUI’s Logan Melia talks with Sierra Hull ahead of her stop at The Englert Theatre on February 12th with The Milk Carton Kids.

Music
Max Johnson

Review: Mumford’s – Triple Trinities

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By Max Johnson “Triple Trinities”, Mumford’s brand new album, is epic. The nine songs on the album converse with one another, all of them focused around the single theme of religion, looking for the soft spots to sink their teeth into, to maybe find some answers to all the questions circling above them like vultures. The characters in the songs – preachers, atheists, God Himself, and an Antichrist or two – are three-dimensional and compelling. You might not be able to finish listening to it all in one sitting, all the narrators are so frustratingly human. Obviously, this is not … Continued

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Review: Utopia Park – Utopia Park

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By Max Johnson Utopia Park is an electronic-punk band from Fairfield, Iowa. The band is composed of Dominic and Philip Rabalais, who are the two most sincere and genuine human beings on the face of the Earth. There. That should be enough for you to listen to them. But if you aren’t convinced… The songs on Utopia Park’s self-titled EP build toward epiphanies, but at the same time, they work as a regression from, not a progression towards, complexity. Vocals go from simply shouted to non-verbal screaming. Instruments pile on top of each other until you’re convinced you heard a … Continued

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Review: Haley Bonar – Golder

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By Max Johnson A friend of mine told me today that he doesn’t like Haley Bonar because she moved to Portland, away from the Twin Cities. He was joking, of course, although when I informed him that Bonar had, indeed, moved back to Minnesota after writing much of Golder, he didn’t seem particularly surprised. It seemed inevitable. Bonar’s sound – pillared by her pretty country-twinged voice, poetic lyrics, and travelin’-song guitar work – should remind more than a few Iowa Citians of another Minneapolis singer-songwriter: Caroline Smith. (Note: seeing Bonar live at The Englert on July 1st, will hopefully feature … Continued

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Review: Pennyhawk — Another Layer

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By Max Johnson Pennyhawk (straight outta Ames, Iowa) is lead by Kate Kennedy. Fans of Christopher the Conquered, Mumford’s, and Leslie and the Ly’s might be familiar with Kennedy. It’s interesting to note that she’s found herself in those three groups, all of which are fronted by huge, boisterous personalities. Pennyhawk’s latest release, the 4-song EP “Another Layer”, begins with the song “Timid Women.” Here, Kennedy channels a voice not at all unlike Leslie Hall – humorous, a little vulgar, and brimming with an “I-will-never-ever-care-what-you-think” attitude. The song establishes the honky tonk/gypsy folk sound to come. The last two songs, … Continued

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