Year: 2013
Local Reviews: The Archer’s Apple
Many a local band in Salt Lake City is starting to sound like they’re from Oklahoma. For the record: I once lived in the Midwest and it’s a shitty part of the country. … read more
Local Reviews: Bears on Parade/Everywhere
Although I don’t find the music incredibly interesting, I love this split on principle. Insert a Plug into a Socket is a DIY, hand-dubbed, tape-only release with typewritten j-cards and a rattlecan colored cassette shell. Now don’t get me wrong—these bands are excellent at what they do, but there’s only so much of this drifty, ambien(t) music I can take before I nod off into a content slumber. … read more
Local Reviews: Ryan Schoeck
Production on this album ends in a place where I wish more music would. Time went into making and producing this record, yes, but it hasn’t been polished to the point that it’s a work of aesthetics. … read more
Local Reviews: The Awful Truth – March 2010
Newcomer to the Salt Lake folk and indie scene, Brent Colbert (and friends) will fit in nicely. … read more
Local Reviews: Hearsay
Poppy punk chops are fun to listen to and that’s all there is to it. Doesn’t matter how high-pitched the vocals, how emo the subject matter, or how derivative the melodies. Those things are secondary. Hearsay is about playing power drums and rock guitar with energy. Perfectly moshable rhythms, staccato fills, and guttural bass punctuate the tightly structured songs. … read more
Local Reviews: Heterodactyl
These local boys deserve credit for coming up with charismatic instrumental parts which complement each other nicely, but the overall production feels overdone in a smooth jazz kind of way. I couldn’t connect with Fourier because I felt so far away from what was going on. … read more
Local Reviews: All Systems Fail/@patia No
After waiting for roughly a year and a half, this split LP has finally dropped, and boy howdy, it’s a fucking doozy. Seven songs apiece from SLC’s most under-appreciated band, All Systems Fail, and Venezuelan anarchists @patia No. The ASF side showcases songs that have been live favorites for a couple of years at least, and they sound absolutely brutal on this slab. … read more
Local Reviews: Blitzkrieg Witchcraft
Blitzkrieg Witchcraft continues digging at that crusty scab, coaxing a virulent anarcho-sludge blend to the surface, but opting for strained atmospherics over speed. “No Faith” is a wobbly intro that’s as doomy as it is unnecessary, but “Mais” picks it up, seething like a faster, sloppier Void practice tape. … read more
Local Reviews: Joshua Payne Orchestra
Zoom is going to be the record you put on the top of the pile, where your friends will be sure see it. Each jammy, heavily rhythmic, hooky tune is as good as or better than the last. You’ll find yourself humming melodies from “La La La” and “SLUG” as if they were lyric-less primary songs written for Miles Davis’ grandkids. … read more
Local Reviews: Mayson Lee and the Rock & Roll Space...
There’s ome pretty fun greasy pop punk with a little horror thrown in on the EP from Mayson Lee. At first I didn’t think much of the female fronted group—they sounded like a lot of other bands to me—but after a few listens, I was coming around and started to see that they may not be reinventing the wheel, but they do know how to get it spinning. … read more
Local Reviews: Baby Ghosts
When I saw Baby Ghosts, the singer was wearing a Yoshi backpack and standing next to a three-foot tall Crayola crayon. This juvenile attitude carries into their lyrics about Stephen Hawking not being able to walk: “Maybe you should just try a little bit harder; I mean, it’s pretty easy to walk.” … read more
Local Reviews: CastleAxe
Hark! CastleAxe (formerly Speitre) hath returned with their brand of classic heavy metal, melded with bludgeoning blows of thrash. As the hilt supports the blade, so does Grög’s rhythm guitar with Hölger’s steel-soldered leads in euphonious synchrony … read more
