2012 felt like somewhat of a mixed bag of musical lollies with our favourites encompassing americana, power pop, 80s synth, indie and many shades of psychedelia. The only thing that tied them all together was the strong streak of melody that each was built on. Even in the case of someone like Neil Young & Crazy Horse it was Young’s incredible weaving of musical notes … Continue reading LIST: DS Top Albums of 2012
by C. Familton Narrow Lands were the first of the four guitar-heavy bands to grace the stage and they impressed with their aggressive, controlled playing that inhabits the dark and heavy end of post-rock. The bass-led Waste of Weekend in particular balanced groove and dissonance to great effect. Lyyar also deal in grand guitar dynamics but theirs was a much more nuanced and textured … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Iowa @ Fbi Social, Kings Cross Hotel, Sydney (16/08/12)
In this first instalment of SONIC KICKS, Iowa’s Dylan Stewart takes us through some of the albums that shaped him. The first album I bought was… Chuck Berry – Greatest Hits. It was the cassette version with an orange cover. I played the heck out of this! Classic tunes with great blues solos. The album that soundtracked a relationship was… Doves – Lost Souls. Such an amazing record that … Continue reading SONIC KICKS | Albums That Shaped Me…
Melbourne’s Iowa have released a new video for Love Song, taken from their most excellent debut album Never Saw It Coming. The trio are also heading out on a run of East Coast Australian dates next month. Tour Dates: Thu Aug 16th – Sydney FBI Social (with Sounds Like Sunset, Narrow Lands & Lyyar) Fri Aug 17th – Brisbane X&Y Bar (with Tape / Off … Continue reading WATCH: Iowa | Love Song
by Chris Familton The boom in popularity of psych rock from Tame Impala to Wooden Shjips has well and truly filtered down to the emergence of new local acts like The Laurels and Melbourne’s Iowa. For a genre so firmly rooted in guitars and hypnotic rhythm sections there are surprisingly few bands who can take that simplistic template and create something unique and impressive from … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Iowa | Never Saw It Coming
Iowa continue their stellar string of single releases with Panic Attack, another dose of crestfallen vocals over churn and chime Mascis guitar squalls. They have a highly anticipated debut album Never Saw it Coming slated for release in April via Aerial Mines Records. Panic Attack and b-side Same Solution will be available to download from February 20th but you can stream it over and over … Continue reading NEWS: Iowa release new single Panic Attack…
So many people are starting to base their listening on songs these days, such is the reduction in attention spans, the proliferation of YouTube browsing and the ease of compiling ones own playlists featuring the best stuff you want to hear. Separate to my Top 50 LPs of 2011 I’ve also put together a list of songs that caught my ears and became hard to … Continue reading Favourite Songs of 2011
There have been a bunch of new local bands that have appeared on my radar this year, many of them hailing from Melbourne. Dick Diver, The Twerps and Iowa in particular stand out and the latter now have a video to go with their recently released single Complete Control. Continue reading WATCH: Iowa | Complete Control
Following last year’s Lose Yourself single Melbourne’s Iowa have just released their new single Complete Control which you can download for free from their Bandcamp page. This time round they harness the surging, sonic sway of bands like Swervedriver with impressive results… DS RECOMMENDS! Continue reading FREE DOWNLOAD: Iowa’s new single Complete Control
Melbourne’s Iowa sound great… heavy, chunky distorted guitars that come in waves like Dinosaur Jr and Crazy Horse soaked in shoegaze. Indecipherable vocals moan and yearn with just the right amount of angst and ache and you get that warm sense of familiarity comforting and invigorating your ears. They have a new red 7″ of Lose Yourself/Reasons out now and you can order it or … Continue reading ds recommends… Iowa
Doubtful Sounds 