Authors: Rebecca Vernon
Local Review: Facts – The F Files: Mixtape Vol. 1
Facts The F Files: Mixtape Vol. 1 Lace Em Up Facts = Bubba Sparxx + The Agents Facts puts lyrics together as precisely as a watchmaker, and his beats and samples stick to you like flypaper slathered with honey. His remix of “Walks of Life” is 10 times better than the original, and his shout-outs
Local Review: Erin Haley – Catastrophe Fantastic
Erin Haley Catastrophe Fantastic Erin Haley = Ani DiFranco + Regina Spektor + Russian accent It’s clear Erin Haley is loaded with talent, and luckily, she has a great recording to promote herself. I probably hear two or three new hopeful major-label piano/singing divas appear on the musical horizon every month, and Erin has just as
Local Review: Drug – Self-titled
Drug Self-titled Drug = Dub Pistols + ‘Quette Daddie’s casio Eclectic hip-hop outfit Drug engages old-fashioned movie clips mix with rumba beats, disembodied vocal samples, heavy beats and trilling flute stuff. However, the production’s flat and dead, and the vocal effects sound like Chipmunks zombies. Maybe Drug S5 stole ‘Quette Daddie’s Casio? Good production
Local Review: Drew Danburry – Besides
Drew Danburry Besides … Drew Danburry = Elliott Smith + Bright Eyes Drew Danburry vulnerable, naked-heart-on-the-sleeve, psychologically-helpless indie-rock folk spillings—it’s not bad, alright? But the song titles are the best part: “It Starts With Indigo, Orange and Green,” “It Ends with Red, Violet and Orange,” “Coming Around Like the Karate Kid.” It’s best when Drew
Local Review: Day of Less – Porcaria
Day of Less Porcaria Exigent Records Day of Less = Gaza (of course) + High on Fire + Converge (kind of) Um. Yeah. This is probably the heaviest music I’ve heard come out of Salt Lake since The Kill. I don’t even think Iodina was this heavy, cowboys. I’m glad it fell on my last
Local Review: Die Monster Die – Only the Dead Will...
Die Monster Die Only the Dead Will Survive Dr. Cyclops Records Die Monster Die = Misfits + Slipknot It’s another Die Monster Die release, and nothing is different from previous releases, but it’s still good. For those not aware of DMD, they are heavily Misfits-influenced with a straight-ahead rock sound and an obsession with zombies,
Local Review: De La Vega – 5-song demo
De La Vega 5-song demo DLV= Incubus + Phish As if their full-length wasn’t enough, De La Vega sends another rap-metal-reggae release that wants badly to be Rage Against the Machine spooning with, say, Staind, but comes off like a horrible suicide-drink slime Sublime/Phish/P.O.D. hybrid. It’s grounded in some pretty catchy riffs, but is still
Local Review: Curious Birds – The Wheel Turns
CURIOUS BIRDS THE WHEEL TURNS Shapeshifting The Curious Birds = Stevie Nicks + Yanni Usually I don’t like neo-new age folksy acoustic stuff that mentions nature with every third breath and sings about “Persephone,” “midwinter,” “harvest time,” obscure pseudo-Celtic-Irish-Scottish mythological references and above all, a “crossroads” that is a doorway to another realm. However, like
Local Review: Born Free – Divine Madness
Born Free Divine Madness Born Free = John Brown’s Body + The Roots Born Free mixes hip-hop with reggae, rock, world music, techno and drum n’ bass, resulting in a diverse amalgamation that’s Jamaican first. Divine Madness is layered over with heavy electronic beats and gospel/spiritual sermonizing vocals. No slick mainstream 50 Cent here.
Local Review: Beard of Solitude – Broken Brain EP
Beard of Solitude Broken Brain EP, Beardo II EP, Fun in the Afternoon single Croakfrog Records Beard of Solitude = your mother’s record collection , the crappy, cheesy stuff Y’know, I don’t even know if I was supposed to review this, but hey, it’ll be fun. It’s a whole buncha Beard stuff on one CD for