Crystal City, a rock group based out of Iowa City, have been together for five years and put out their first full-length album a couple months ago. The band plays uptempo rock n roll with heart, screaming guitars filling in the gaps between contemplative lyricism.

I was turned on to the band by Bruce Bales, a filmmaker whose work has been showcased here before (the video for the In Rooms song “Terraces”). He also directed Crystal City’s video for their song “Dynamite,” and it’s a pretty cool clip.

I like the way Bales uses the energy of the song to dictate the mood. It’s a grower that starts off kinda slow, but before you know it you’re two minutes into the song and the band is rocking in ways you never would have expected.