Local Music Reviews

Adam and Darcie
California Trail
Village Ten Collective
Street: 07.24
Adam and Darcie = Earlimart + Winterpills
California Trail is a confident sophomore release for the Provo husband and wife duo. The album is full of intelligent lo-fi folky tunes, controlled production, clever lyrics and charming harmonies. “Hands/Mind” plays out like a long-lost Elliott Smith track sparkling with imagination and heart. The guitar slightly strums in “I Need To Let Go of What I Won’t Miss,” exposing a hint of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon.” Adam carefully sings “Take my wooden heart and burn it to the core / Open my cinder eyes / I have seen the dark before” on “All I Ever Do Is Fall,” exuding each syllable with soft emotion. Darcie’s voice always appears at the most opportune time to further heighten the gentleness of the album. We should feel privileged to have been invited along this journey to the California Trail—it’s a trip you’ll want to take soon. ­–Miss Modular

Ask for the Future
Satellites
Self-Released
Street: 05.12
Ask for the Future = The Rocket Summer + Something Corporate + Sing It Loud
This is an incredibly earnest, occasionally twee, straight-up pop album with breathy male vocals.  The subject matter is mostly juvenile, existential anxiety with an equally juvenile sense of wonder over romantic love.  In other words, this is an album that is aimed squarely at teenaged girls.  Probably no other demographic is assumed to have worse music taste, which is a cultural tic I often find annoying and misguided.  It would be unfair to dismiss  Ask for the Future simply because they might appeal to your little sister—Satellites features tight, catchy song-writing and vocalist Sam Sorensen has a strong voice that’s much more pleasant to listen to than most singers in the poppy emo genre. The lyrics are by far their weak spot, and hopefully future albums will see improvement in that area. –Cléa Major

Dethrone the Sovereign
Demo 2009
Self Released
Street: 01.05
Dethrone the Sovereign = Arsis + Winds of Plague + Between the Buried and Me + Unexpect
Dethrone the Sovereign have offered up some damn interesting metalcore, death, prog and black metal sounds on their first official demo. The order of the songs chronicles the bands musical progression, since the songs are tracked in the order they were written. The beat patterns and rhythms the band has crafted in their songs are maddening and far from providing a nice melodic backdrop. There is some fast transitioning from compellingly heavy order to dissonant and swirling chaos. The keyboards honestly make this material shine—it’s as if the band took prog and symphonic black metal keyboard influences and combined them into some strange bastard son that dares listeners to make sense of it all. It’s not all crazy for the sake of being crazy: the songs offer layered, challenging listens that can be misunderstood from first impressions. There is a lot to listen too on this six track demo and enjoyment grows with each play through. –Bryer Wharton

Hour 13
Self Tilted
Self-Released
Street: 11.10
Hour 13 = Nickelback + Hinder + Saving Abel
“Ed Hardy” rock is one subgenre of music that for seem reason continues to get more popular every year. [Insert sarcasm.] Bands like the three named above, along with the greatest fucking band of all time, 3 Doors Down, are the reason I love music. I call it “Ed Hardy” rock is because all these bands, and their fans, wear the shit out of Ed Hardy’s clothes, and that is so bad ass. [End sarcasm.] Hour 13 can definitely be categorized under Ed Hardy rock with their powerful playing and knack for anthemic, inspirational choruses. This music was built for slaying cougars and drinking Coors. –Jon Robertson

Killbot
Welcome to the Cemetery
Self Released
Street: 10.30
Killbot = 3 Inches of Blood + Mercyful Fate + Venom
If music had a smell, Killbot’s Welcome to the Cemetery would have the pungent odor of sulfurous, extra-metallic, iron-filled fresh blood. The CD’s production is magnificently razor sharp, clear, crisp and, most importantly, brilliantly darkened yet vibrantly heavy. Killbot remind me a lot of 3 Inches of Blood not only because their styles are slightly a similar mixing of classic and thrash metal but because they sound like a classic metal band born from the heyday in the late 70s and early 80s. It’s not a forced sound, but it’s a completely natural progression of terrific songwriting. Each track on the seven-song album embodies its own identity with depth of musicianship shining through, via pulse-pounding rhythms, astoundingly tight riffing and some awesomely metal guitar soloing. Add a unique sounding vocalist and it just pushes everything to the brink of badass heavy metal. (Burt’s Tiki Lounge: 12.12) –Bryer Wharton

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Comments on this article

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Teashia

SYQNYS is the greatest rapper alive and it looks like you just got your feel goods hurt. Don't cry, it's only a joke! Did you listen to any of the words on the other songs??

Posted on January 15, 2010 by WinDar

Syqnys review. Syq doesn't even mention the pope on the song Blasphemy. You could at least get you facts straight. And the song sexytime is great. I think you dont like that song cuz you are homophobic and Syqnys is defending gays on that song. Finally, you are the one who is calling religious people mentally handicapped so actually you are the arrogant one here. There is no doubt that this album might be offensive to some people and Syqnys will probably not be appreciated in his lifetime just like Lenny Bruce and other artists who challenged the system. But hey, at the end of the day Everyone's a Critic...

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