Year: 2013
Local Review: Reaper The Storyteller – Trilogy
Reaper the Storyteller Trilogy Self-Released Street: 05.11 Reaper the Storyteller = Outkast + The Roots + 2pac The mantra that Reaper the Storyteller imposes on himself is no lie. His subject matter is the stuff of true substance. Oftentimes, hip hop focuses on inflating the ego, smoking dank weed and fucking mad bitches. The
Local Review: Replica Mine – A Ghost In The Womb
Part 1: Acceptance begins softly and sweetly, with a simple guitar riff and some breathy vocals. Things quickly evolve with electronic details and effects that give a definite ’80s synthpop kind of feel. … read more
Local Review: Riksha – Dream Drops Red
Riksha plays heavy, hard, shiny metal, and their new release, Dream Drops Red, is a neatly executed album of exactly that. The music is loud, mean and beautiful. … read more
Local Review: Omeed the Nag – Status
Omeed has a nice Aesop Rock sort of gritty feel to his voice, but he does this half-rap-half-sing-song thing that sounds silly. Status isn’t a bad album, but it sounds no different and no better than the same cookie-cutter hip hop that we’re all so tired of. … read more
Local Review: Officer Jenny – The Gods Must Be Giddy,...
Officer Jenny The Gods Must Be Giddy, a Gaggle of Unexceptional Songs Written for Unexceptional People Self-Released Street: 05.31 Officer Jenny = Sufjan Stevens + The Shins Provo’s Stephen Cope, who performs under the Pokémon-inspired moniker, Officer Jenny, offers up an understated, personal and, at times, campy album in his debut. Gods starts off
Local Review: Orem Owls – Index
Orem Owls Index Hel Audio Street: 04.07 Orem Owls = Oneohtrix Point Never + Ben Best & Karl Jørgensen + Neotantrik I appreciate the work that Hel Audio is doing, quite a bit. It is a local label supporting fringe music, such as that made by Orem Owls, with several artists regularly participating in showcases
Local Review: Pentagraham Crackers – Live! From the Palace of...
Pentagraham Crackers Live! From the Palace of Payne Chthonic Records Street: 05.31 Pentagraham Crackers = Dan Sartain + The Mr. T Experience The fluid tempo and mood in Live! From the Palace of Payne flow from upbeat in one track, to depressive and longing in another. The genre seems fluid, too, and pinning it down
Local Review: Parlor Hawk – Self-Titled
For their second album, Provo’s Parlor Hawk looked to make a slight departure from the sound of Hoarse & Roaming—their 2010 Northplatte Records release that seemed heavily influenced by producer Joshua James—and dabble a bit more in the rock side of their indie rock/folk genre. … read more
Local Review: Pink Lightning – The Unbeatable Sound of Plastic
The Unbeatable Sound of Plastic, the second full-length record from Salt Lake’s Pink Lightning, straddles the line that separates gritty blues and ‘70s rock, and fucking breaks everything in between. … read more
Local Review: Nostalgia – Self-Titled
It’s not often that a baritone voice sticking to a few sustained notes hooks me. It’s more rare when the band comes from Utah County.
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Local Review: No Sleep – Self-Titled
Happy Valley pop rock is alive and well with the Provo band No Sleep’s self-titled full-length. Guitarist Matthias Hammon’s shimmering, fingerpicked arpeggios dominate the somewhat spare production with the sweet-without-saccharine vocals of Shelby Crawley, who shares vocal duties with Hammon. … read more
Local Review: Ok Ikumi – 10/13
Karl Jørgensen, you rat bastard, what have you done with my brain? I have fallen in love with this album and refuse to take it off repeat. … read more
