From Iowa City’s music scene comes The Abyssal Plain by Dryad. The record contains impressive black metal with Lovecraftian elements that we do not hear enough of anymore. From the opening instrumental track “Counterillumination,” the listener feels something lurking. We then fall into the depths of hell with the second track “Bottomfeeder.” The listener knows what they are getting into at this point.

If you don’t like black metal already, this probably won’t win you over. But if you’re a fan, this is something to get excited about. In addition to sounding amazing, the tracks have a coherent rhythm that black metal sometimes lacks. The third track, “Brine Pool Aberration,” is a great example of this. The seamless transition between tempo breaks and groove that the guitar offers makes moshing a little easier. Speaking of moshing, if you have not been to a Dryad show, I highly recommend you go.

The next track, “Trenches,” showcases what each band member has to offer. Claire Nuñez (Claw) and Grimtooth scream over their impeccable guitar work, along with amazing bass from Joe Milik. To top it off, Oliver Weilein’s drumming serves as the perfect mix of loud, abrasive, and impressive to embody true cold and evil. But my favorite tracks aren’t even on side A.

“Pompeii Worm” and “Chimera Monstrosa” start off side B. “Pompeii Worm” has some almost groovy, punky undertones to it, with one of my favorite lines I’ve heard in metal in a while: “Scorch the sky to deepest shade of black.” This encapsulates all the themes of the album and sums up black metal, without singing about getting ripped through the gut with a chainsaw.

The album cuts to the dungeon synth track “Chimera Monstrosa.” The track starts with a beautiful synthesizer riff that builds into an epic wall of cold. Dryad does an excellent job with the instrumental and ambient tracks on the album. The last track, “A Nagging Thought” left me unsettled and feeling like I had heard something I was not supposed to. Overall, The Abyssal Plain is a great metal record that I would highly recommend to genre fans.

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The show began around 10pm with local band Burning Hands. The three piece group, featuring Dustin Kelly, Laura Kelly, and Joe Derderian, slow-burned through a set of rough and droning jams. Heavily effect guitar chords were complemented with slow and steady bass lines, and the harsh psychedelic sounds at times bordered on noise. A few technical difficulties aside, Burning Hands were a great opening act for the rest of the night.

The next group to take the stage was Chris Forsyth and the Solar Motel Band. Hailing from Philadelphia, the quartet’s classic rock sound was not something I was expecting. The band played the type of music that my dad would love, and I mean that in the best way possible. The group blazed through a set of mostly instrumental jams, with just enough of a twang and bend to the sound to give it a southern touch. With a few short vocal samples to tie together the songs, the Solar Motel Band launched into a stream of raw rock n’ roll consciousness, and as far as I’m concerned they blew the doors off the place.

I felt bad for the next act setting up, as I’m sure that was a difficult act to follow. And when I realized that the band only featured a guitarist and a drummer, my hopes weren’t particularly high. Whenever I see a two piece rock group, I can’t help but think that it always comes across as some kind of gimmick. And when lead singer/guitarist Alex White asked for her vocals to be turned up “until the monitors whistle”, I thought I was in for a long night.

However, the Chicago natives White Mystery totally changed my mind with their frenetic and chaotic style. A blur of head-banging red ‘fros filled the stage, and the energetic punk sound filled The Mill. Their infectious energy affected the crowd, and soon a large group of people were dancing the night away with the sibling of White Mystery. At one point, drummer Francis White brought his crash symbol into the audience, and began to full-body smash it. It was quite the performance, and a great way to end an evening of awesome music.

Check out the rest of the Mission Creek Festival’s calendar here

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Dana Telsrow is the creative mind behind abbr. relation, released September 27. You can blaze through this EP in roughly 14 minutes.

The first (“Farmer’s Market”) and third (“Sylviane”) tracks barely make the two and a half minute mark.  The last and longest track at roughly 5 minutes,”Goin’ Down”, is a nice note to end on. It’s a little more aggressive than the other tracks, with its garish brass and vocals (that sound more like declarations). “Goin’ Down” climaxes about three times, which is a unique quality. There is definitely a lot of fun and effective improvisation with a lot of different, warm instruments I sat in near silence thinking it had come to an end, but was delighted to find there was more to be heard from Dana T..

This EP is quite the unconventional mash-up , in a solid way. I found myself resisting the urge to skip to my next class to listen to this EP.

Standout tracks: “Farmer’s Market,” “Goin’ Down”

Sounds like:  The Beggarmen, Rubblebucket, Dan Deacon

Check out their page and buy abbr. relation here!

The post Album Review: Dana T – abbr. relation appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Kicking off the festivities will be Cedar Rapids-based surf rock band The Surf Zombies at 8 PM, followed by laidback blues band Porch Builder at 9:20 PM. Alternative rock group The Treats will continue the greatness at 10:40 PM. Rounding out the lineup at midnight is Iowa City’s own The Uniphonics, who have made a name for themselves in the Midwest music scene with their unique blend of funk, hip-hop, and jazz-influenced tunes.

Along with all of this great music, there will be some sweet new KRUI merch to be claimed by all who attend.  Catch all of this awesomeness for only $5 on Friday, February 1st at 8 PM at Gabe’s in Iowa City!

RSVP to our Facebook event HERE.

To purchase tickets in advance, visit the Gabe’s website.

Band information:

The Uniphonics
The Surf Zombies
Porch Builder
The Treats

See you there!

The post Show Announcement: KRUI Back-to-School Bash appeared first on KRUI Radio.

In the deep recesses of Public Space One, KRUI 89.7 FM and Little Village Live had the great honor of having Milk and Eggs (Jordan Sellergren) perform this week. With merch and son Woody in tow, Sellergren melted listener’s ears with her cool country-fused folk music and with upcoming tour dates.

September 25, 2012 with Match by Match at The Mill at 8PM

September 29, 2012 with The Iowa Opera House Project at CSPS in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 7PM​

October 6, 2012 with  The Iowa Opera House Project at The Preucil School of Music  at 7PM

The post Little Village Live: Milk and Eggs, September 19, 2012 appeared first on KRUI Radio.