Local Review: A Lily Gray – Waiting Room

Local Review: A Lily Gray – Waiting Room
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Polished, local alt-rock group A Lily Gray returns with another teaser of an EP that will get you salivating for a full album from this quintet. … read more

Always Talking: An Interview with Golden Sun

Always Talking: An Interview with Golden Sun
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Golden Sun is a three-piece based in Cottonwood Heights. Weston (drums), Chase (vocals), and Jantzen Meier (guitar) are the minds and brothers behind the music. Their recent video for the song “Always Talking” is a slick example of how technology can empower just about anyone to make a great looking do-it-yourself video at home. … read more

Sharon Needles: Nightmare Before Xmas @ Metro Bar 12.14 with The Bad Kids

Sharon Needles: Nightmare Before Xmas @ Metro Bar 12.14 with...
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Out of the crop of RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants that Metro Bar has hosted in this post-Pride season—including Manila Luzon, Honey Mahogany and JuJuBee— Sharon Needles is most certainly the Baddest.  … read more

Coldwaves and City Rain: Interview with LowCityRain’s Markus Siegenhort

Coldwaves and City Rain: Interview with LowCityRain’s Markus Siegenhort
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LowCityRain is the solo project of Markus Siegenhort, member of German post-metal band Lantlôs. On the album, Siegenhort’s post-punk baritone shifts through such brooding sonic pathways—cold synths, heavy bass, melancholic guitars—through similar thematic territory: urban nights and modern indecisions. SLUG spoke with Siegenhort about the album and some of his favorite coldwave tracks.  … read more

Some Dope Thoughts with DopeThought

Some Dope Thoughts with DopeThought
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Each city with a recognizable hip hop scene shows its own characteristics in its music. “There is a strong religious and spiritual influence in Utah. It’s not gonna sound like other cities—it’s gonna sound like Salt Lake.” SLC gets a bad rap from outsiders when there are so many different types of people, especially those expressive through art. It’s as though Salt Lake has an established norm which gives outsiders a preconceived idea—most of us get lost in translation. MakeMind has a goal of changing that norm.  … read more

Review: Strike to Survive – Yesterday’s News

Review: Strike to Survive – Yesterday’s News
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Drums and guitar high in the mix with jagged vocals buried a little beneath makes for a compelling listen, sort of similar to Drive Like Jehu or maybe even the first Bronx album (check the Refused-via-Stooges riffing on the title track). … read more

Winter Battle of the Bands @ Velour Live Music Gallery 12.14

Winter Battle of the Bands @ Velour Live Music Gallery...
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“It’s over,” I’m furiously scribbling down high marks on the scoring sheet provided by Velour, speaking to no one in particular. “It’s fucking over!” The sold out crowd has become unhinged, saying, “One More Song! One More Song!” The electricity is palpable. After the fourth band of five, Velour’s semi-annual competition is over. I just feel bad for whoever has to go after this … I’m getting ahead of myself. The Battle started at 8:15 p.m. … … read more

Pere Ubu House Concert 12.10

Pere Ubu House Concert 12.10
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Have you ever dreamt that you were at a party in some unfamiliar house, and one of those cool, obscure bands that you admire was playing there? I found myself saying that to a friend one evening recently—one of the strangest, most singular evenings I’ve had in a long time with Pere Ubu!   … read more

Review: The Smoking Flowers – 2 Guns

Review: The Smoking Flowers – 2 Guns
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IIt’s more interesting than the crop of artists on the pop country charts, but that isn’t saying much. For sheer listening—if you enjoy the storytelling lyricizing of the country genre—you could do far worse. … read more

Review: Robert Pollard – Blazing Gentlemen

Review: Robert Pollard – Blazing Gentlemen
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Robert Pollard’s musical universe (and it is a universe—he’s written thousands of songs) often sounds like some alternate through-the-looking-glass world, resembling classic rock, with riffs and lyrical tropes that seem somehow familiar, but from some other far-off constellation.  … read more

Review: Moon Honey – Hand-Painted Dream Photographs

Review: Moon Honey – Hand-Painted Dream Photographs
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Baton Rouge, La. combo Moon Honey might lay to rest comparisons of that city with colorful New Orleans. Indie bands have dabbled with orchestral instruments before, but this product is psych rock with the theatricality of ’70s glam. … read more

Review: Melt-Banana – Fetch

Review: Melt-Banana – Fetch
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Fetch will have you scrambling after their lightning-paced rhythms and the frenetic phrasings of vocalist Yasuko Onuki, and Ichirou Agata’s guitar explorations—which are all over the place in terms of the fretboard and effects—that range from video game noises to natural sounds. … read more