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Honest Iago
29 Palms
(Self-Released)
4/5 Stars
Though they formed in San Diego in 2005, Honest Iago (pronounced yah-go) may only be on their second album, but some things are certainly worth the wait. Unfolding like a kaleidoscope of various genres of punk, the quick album touches on Americana, modern rock, and, surprisingly, mild thrash, and they even offer a fun and forceful cover of “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight”.
While the first tune finds an anthemic quality somewhere between Against Me! And Lucero, subsequent tracks illustrate a wealth of influences delivered with dual vocals- one gruff, one smooth- with more mid-tempo, exploratory songs that inevitably invoke '90s emo/post-hardcore feelings. If these guys opened for Hot Water Music back in their heyday, you would have bought an album and a shirt and used both excessively and affectionately. (Tom Haugen)