Year: 2013
Local Reviews: IX Zealot
Prepare yourself for IX Zealot’s Articles of Ophidian Faith. It provides three tracks of damn good, scary-as-immortal-sin audio distortion that will help you open a door to your very own black hole. Combining elements of doom, death and black metal, each track is over nine (seemingly endless) minutes of sonic darkness that brim forth from the massive abysmal depths of metaldom. … read more
Local Reviews: Mechanical Skies
Richfield’s Mechanical Skies is an unorthodox group of musicians. Guitarist and occasionally gruff vocalist Henry Reese formed a band with bassist/vocalist Jaylee Amey freakin’ Toro (pardon the language) and drummer Zefree, who are each half Reese’s age. This adds to the appeal of the simple, backyard-BBQ-type rock they produce together. … read more
Local Reviews: Onesfate
Every band has a beginning, and those beginnings rarely strike lightning on their first shot. Salt Lake City’s Onesfate have provided four solid cuts for their debut demo CD that hark back to old school thrash and mix in some progressive metall and blues styles. … read more
Local Reviews: Shady Chapel
Shady Chapel is led by Jordan Clark. Jordan is not only a talented songwriter and vocalist, but he also plays the guitar, harmonica and organ. The result is a country-folk-pop self-titled EP that would make the Band of Annuals proud. … read more
Local Reveiws: Storming Stages and Stereos
Dear Lord. When will this rock-with-horns/third-wave ska thing ever die? I thought the ship had sunk a few years ago, but SSAS is paddling hard. … read more
Localized: Bustbloom
Photo: Helen Leeson Sometimes a music project is too important to simply abandon. With long stretches of band roster difficulties and other frustrations, Dustbloom could have easily become a minor footnote on the pages of Salt Lake City rock history, but Ian Cooperstein (guitar/vocals) and Cameron Jorgensen (drums/keys) kept the dream alive. The duo met
Localized: Problem Daughter
This month’s Localized is a cross-section of SLC punk: the visceral, dissonant hardcore punk of Foster Body, the surf-soaked party punk of JAWWZZ!! and the acerbic, bittersweet pop punk of Problem Daughter. These bands have shared bills over the last few years—Foster Body and JAWWZZ!! even share a drummer. They all name each other among
Localized: Baby Gurl
Photo: Gilbert Cisneros Urban Lounge is gonna get weird on Jan. 10. This month’s Localized features headliners Yaktooth, who are prepared to deliver their heavy-rock goulash, and Baby Gurl, a drums/bass two-piece bent on slamming out a grooving assault. Chaotic hardcore openers Die Off will pummel you, starting at 9 p.m. Localized, brought to you
Localized: Fossil Arms
On Friday, Dec. 13, come to Urban Lounge for the warm, emotionally sophisticated dark pop of The Circulars, and get wrecked by Fossil Arms’ articulation of what tape hiss sounds like choking on glass—during shock treatment. Alexander Ortega, of Filth Lords and Editorial Assistant at SLUG, is the opener. Localized is hosted by Ischa B.,
Local Reviews: American Hitmen
American Hitmen would be considered a somewhat modernized offspring of 1980s era metal/thrasher tunes. Not so much like the metal creations who have done away with melody and music altogether—the “roll” in “rock n’ roll,” if you will. This EP seems to pay homage to some of the original interpretations of the genre, aligning more with Alice Cooper and Def Leppard stylings. … read more
Local Reviews: Fox Van Cleef
Fox Van Cleef couldn’t have picked a better title for their first full-length album. The five-piece ensemble have blended elements of funk, psychedelic, rock and blues into a overwhelming concoction of music that doesn’t really match any other Utah band. … read more
Local Reviews: J-Real
This is just bad marketing. So much of this album is a waste of time. Not so much the music parts, more the cee-lo instructions, like your target market doesn’t already know how to roll bones curbside. “Million Dollar Swag” is spit over the “Nissan, Honda, Chevy” beat, and still doesn’t hold up to the other 350 artist to spit over it. … read more