Album Review

By Terry Quinn Guitar-guru Marnie Stern returns to the music scene with her third, self-titled, full length, once again paired with percussion aficionado and Hella drummer, Zach Hill. While the album is technically proficient as anything in Stern and Hill’s back catalogue, daunting skills are hardly the primary focus. Instead it incorporates math rock inspired guitar and drum riffs into melodic pop song structures that are both catchy and dense; math rock made accessible. Stern’s childlike vocals reflect and guide the instrumentation, bringing a sense of vulnerability to these tracks that effectively glues everything together. The constantly changing opening track, … Continued

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By Steve C. Down There is the first official solo album from Avey Tare (Dave Portner) of Animal Collective. Avey Tare uses a unique blend of shadowy harmonies and experimental beats to create his own brand of psychedelic pop. He has long relied on fellow band mate Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) to add the finishing touches to the atmospheric soundscapes associated with previous Animal Collective albums, most notably The Merriweather Post Pavillion, but with Down There Avey Tare sets himself apart . Down There is notably dark & menacing (stemming from several personal losses/setbacks suffered by Portner), and contains abstract lyrics and sounds that are, … Continued

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By Emily L. A View of the Sky marks the third effort from singing/songwriting troubadour, and local folk favorite, Paleo.  Paleo, whose real name is David Strackany, once spent some time around these Iowa City parts, running Public Space One’s art gallery, before packing up to record an album and tour the country. Paleo’s tour history, which includes approximately 700 shows over the span of six years, is equally as impressive as his Song Diary project, in which he wrote a song a day from April 16, 2006 to April 15, 2007.  But putting these notable factors aside, and focusing … Continued

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By Terry Q Aside from a handful of remixes and EPs, not much has been seen from East London’s Gold Panda since last year’s eastern influenced breakthrough hit, “Quitter’s Raga”. Marking his first venture into LP territory, Lucky Shiner, is quick to communicate that this was time well spent. The album consists of 11, tightly knit, electronic instrumentals (for the most part) that further establish and expand on the eastern-indie-pop sound Gold Panda has surrounded himself with. Describing this album as electronic hardly does it justice as the electronic sounds here have a certain level of human intimacy akin to … Continued

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Hey! All of you Iowa City inhabitants from near and far, listen up! A few adopted sons, The Lonelyhearts and Caleb Engstrom, have a few songs they’d like you to hear.  So lick your chops and dive in for a hefty helping of local tunes, because the Winter Club Split is what you’re in need of to curb that music craving, and not a minute to soon for Fall, ah, I mean Winter that is. The Lonelyhearts half of the Winter Club Split was recorded in Fort Collins, CO and mixed in Iowa City. Caleb Engstrom’s half was recorded and … Continued

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By Emily L. In a day and age when singer/songwriters seem to be about a dime a dozen, it’s difficult to come across one that possesses a kind of holding power that separates them from the bunch.  Thankfully for us, Sharon Van Etten does just that.  The Brooklyn-based Van Etten’s haunting vocals and sincere lyrics prove that she is at the forefront of the modern pack.  Her latest album, Epic, is a wonderfully captivating collection of seven songs that instantly welcome the listener into a world of lost love and heartbreak.  The songs are a powerful, heartfelt mix that feature more … Continued

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Los Angeles based-producer, Flying Lotus, aka FlyLo, aka Steven Ellison, has delivered an extremely user-friendly EP with Pattern+Grid World. His previous album, 2010’s Cosmogramma, was a bit of a slow burn and most likely  alienated some new listeners. In contrast, the Pattern+Grid World EP is a truly fascinating and much more approachable listen. Flying Lotus is known for his transcendent genius which encompasses several musical genres, ranging from hip-hop, ambient, jazz, house, intelligent dance music,and world music. “Kill your co-workers” (my favorite track), is filled with 1980’s 8-bit video game sounds, creating a truly nostalgic piece that will have you guessing which Nintendo cartridge FlyLo … Continued

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