Music
Local Reviews: Advent Horizon
These guys are extraordinarily talented young musicians, and I had the great pleasure of witnessing them firsthand at a live show this past year. Musically, they are dedicated to beautiful, progressive rock songs, and they jam till they’re done—all the songs on the album are over four minutes long, and about half are over six. … read more
Local Review: Yaktooth
There are a few key things you need to know about Yaktooth: They like to talk about North Korea and Kim Jong Il, and they like to play math rock. Yaktooth wouldn’t be out of place on Hydra Head’s roster, and their jams rock.
… read more
Local Review: Tendervishes
Tendervishes is the kind of band I’d imagine somebody using the word “gypsy” to describe, if that person had never actually heard gypsy music. Perhaps this is something any band making moody use of violins and non-4/4 timings has to deal with, though. … read more
Local Review: Rocky Mountain District
For the past few years, bands have been rescuing the screamo moniker from its relegated position as an evil music genre epithet, a cause furthered by Rocky Mountain District. Brandishing their swords and screams proudly, and recording their performance in brilliant lo-fi glory, any notions of the negative connotation of emo and screamo are cast aside. … read more
Local Review: PTO
Pointless has possibly gotten just as many plays on my stereo as it would have on a college radio station two decades ago. Even though the album’s performers are just four local (and young) dudes, they could still easily pass as Clinton-era slackers. … read more
Local Review: Polytype
Polytype are aptly named, considering their heavily layered production of ambient noise. This album is hypnotic dream-pop with a moody touch. … read more
Local Review: Mike Moran
This album from local musician Mike Moran contains a dense amount of indie/folk instrumentation, but Moran’s great attention to detail seems to do a disservice to his songs. Along with the thin, distorted vocals, there are a lot of small accents mixed throughout each song, such as guitar noodling, which add some different flavors to the songs, but fail to catch your ears overall. … read more
Local Review: Drew Danburry
Danburry has shown us that he’s still in the music game, which is great news in my book! As a long-ish-time fan of Danbury’s, my only disappointment was in the short length of the new release. … read more
Local Review: Charlatan
There isn’t much of an excuse for slacking in production anymore, with modern technology allowing the tiniest band to put out professional-quality demos—which is why it’s extremely painful when a band doesn’t put any effort into creating a listenable recording. … read more
Local Review: Chance Lewis
Chance Lewis portrays the wisdom and wit of an experienced emcee like Astronautalis. His influences aren’t obvious, but it’s clear he’s not afraid to represent the fact that he’s a white rapper living in Provo. … read more
The Soft Moon Interview
Raised under the blistering sun of California’s Mojave Desert, Luis Vasquez creates shape-like sounds under a design of minimal darkwave. Vasquez began The Soft Moon as a process of expelling memories of a rotten upbringing. After a decade of working as a graphic designer and playing in various punk inspired bands, snarling post-punk and industrial synthpop felt like the perfect mode of expression. … read more
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, Sallie Ford and...
When I first saw Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside perform in Portland, I was hooked, and I selfishly wanted them to become more popular, hoping that would mean tour dates that included Salt Lake on the route. This is the second time they’ve visited Salt Lake (that I know of, at least), and hopefully not the last! Sallie embodies the sounds of a wicked vintage diva, from throwing it back to surf rock influences, to using the upright bass (an element I especially dig), to belting sassy lyrics with crude themes. … read more
