Music
Local Reviews: Funnel Vision
Here’s a fun little sack o’ goodies for ya: two CD-Rs, a cassette, a sticker and a mini-zine that chronicle the weird exodus of band members Stan and Karrie Boman as they fled cross-country following the massive tornado that wiped out their home in Joplin, Miss. in May of 2011. … read more
Local Reviews: Folk Hogan
It’s too easy to say Folk Hogan sound like Flogging Molly—they deserve more than that. Pub-belting tunes about whiskey, women and mythical men, Folk Hogan should be blasted at volume 11 by every cabby-hatted booze enthusiast in Utah. … read more
Local Reviews: Bullets & Belles
I have to say that this might be the best production of anything local I’ve ever heard, which would stand to reason, since while Bullets & Belles only formed last year, the members are all veteran musicians. This three-song EP is some damn catchy jazz pop, with stunning vocals, thoughtful lyrics and brilliant songwriting. … read more
Local Reviews: 5 State Killing Spree
Alternative, ‘90s-inspired and with a fun little Latin twist in the rhythm now and again, these guys have done a nice job of referencing some of the bands they probably grew up listening to. … read more
Local Reviews: Uncle Scam
Despite parting ways with their rhythm section in late 2011, the remaining members of Uncle Scam pressed on as a duo, working with session musicians to put together this full-length album one track at a time. Compared to the rest of their catalogue, Fly Free actually takes some risks on the lyrical front, showing frontwoman Ischa B’s talent in hitting the vein of emotional wreckage. … read more
Local Reviews: Summerteeth
After putting out their EP How I Got in the Room last December, Summerteeth apparently made a quick trip back to the studio, as they released their second full-length album, Lurking Danger, this past February. … read more
Local Reviews: Stories of Ambition
Stories of Ambition is ambitious, indeed. While the band has added members since the recording, everything on this album was written and performed (or in the case of the drums, written and programmed) by one man, Zach Hyte, formerly of Oh, Antarctica. … read more
Local Reviews: Stark Raving Mad
I always vomit a little when bands pull that “Oh, we’re not like other bands” thing, so Stark Raving Mad, who tout a manifesto like “Easily Defined, Easily Defeated” and piece hunks of ska, Gainesvillle melodies and cowpunk into a raucous punk sound, should have me blowing bruschetta all over my damn room … but I’m not. You see, for all their musical deviations, they’re rooted pretty heavily in all things traditional. … read more
Local Reviews: Nick Foster
When I played the first track from Nick Foster’s Total Data, it seemed erratic, busy and slightly irritating—“Just Pick Yes” made me want to just say no. It has a mix of samples put together without fluidity that made me feel like my ears were being drilled by infomercials. I decided to give the album a second chance and listen to it with a completely open mind, so I smoked a doobie and pressed play. … read more
Local Reviews: Doomed to Extinction
This is a batch of three recording sessions slapped onto one CD-R from a salty trio of grindcrushers, all captured (as the title suggests) in Raunch’s back room. Doomed to Extinction cops their name from a killer Disrupt cut, and the nominal homage lends a solid, sonic reference point for the liminal space they occupy, like crud under a toenail, ’tween grind, crust and sludge. … read more
Local Reviews: DJ Shanty
The master of the turntables for local hip hop legends The Numbs has not been idle since 2011’s Soulburn release. The production of Megatherium, an instrumental beat album, is halfway between classic video games, breakbeats and world music with buzzed-out bass behind tight snare and rich woodblock and tom drum hits. … read more
Local Reviews: Discoid A
Good god damn, this thing is fun! What started as an “acoustic D-beat” band has morphed into a full-blown loud machine. Recorded with one mic, this release encompasses an astounding 37 songs in 36 minutes, and it is one of the dirtiest punk rock recordings I’ve ever heard. … read more
