Issues: Issue 235 - July 2008
Local Reviews: Auto-Pirates
A local band making the decision to utilize what sounds like Russian lyrics on an opening track= balls. Some members of the Utah community would be miffed if an intro track didn’t have some entirely English reference to how much they love God and/or how much they love their country. … read more
Local Reviews: Ben Johnson
Oh my! I don’t know what I was expecting with this CD … actually, I thought it was going to be second-rate, diluted folk music; something about the calligraphy font on the front cover. But the album opens up with a big, classy, big band-era sounding rock extravaganza and goes on from there to 40s and 50s crooner hits with “fun” pschedelia thrown in (think Flaming Lips, not Jefferson Airplane). … read more
Local Reviews: Die Monster Die
Die Monster Die has truly become a staple of Salt Lake’s underground scene. They play on a fairly regular basis and release a record every now and then. Their metal-laden horror punk is fun and creepy, but they’ve never really stepped above the regular horror punk sludge that inhabits the music collection of anyone who wishes there were more Misfits’ records. … read more
Local Reviews: Dirty Uncle Davey
Dirty Uncle Davey is all you could expect from a synth-based noise band, long droney tracks of feedback and mysterious sounding tones meandering through dimensionless matter. What is great about this release and most really good noise music is that it steps into your subconscious and plays a few tricks on you, the biggest being that of time confusion. … read more
Local Reviews: Invaders
It’s not very often I’ll get a tasty treat of chunky doom from our local bands, but holy shit, Invaders has nailed it. This humble little EP pounds three songs of heaviness into your pink, supple little ear drums without regard for whether or not you like them. As DIY as the release appears, the production is extremely high quality without much feeling of intrusive digital polish, which can often sacrifice that sweet atmospheric buzz you feel in the back of your throat. … read more
Local Reviews: Mushman
If I didn’t already, now I certainly feel like a child. There must be a secret to make an album friendly and inviting, and Mushman’s got the ingredients. Step 1: Start off with lovely acoustic guitars. Step 2: Add in a clarinet, harmonica and some keys. Step 3: Mix gently with sweet melodies and vocals, and last, but not least, Step 4: The “special” sauce, a local twist. … read more
National CD Reviews – July 2008
Abiku Left & Right Automation Records Street Date: 05.27& 06.24, respectively Abiku = Genghis Tron + Get Hustle + X + Berserk + Coughs Having enjoyed Abiku’s previous release, Location, I was a bit intimidated by the 96 track Left & Right collection of songs. However, this release shows an artistic advancement that places Abiku
Smile! Japan’s Boris is Headed to SLC
For those of you who have never experienced the sheer earfuck that isJapan’s Boris, it’s not too late to get on theboat. With their latest release on SouthernLord, Smile, Boris has once again shown themasses why they refuse to be pigeon-holedand are constantly re-writing what heavymusic “should be.” By some sheer stroke ofinsane luck, I was granted an e-mail interviewwith Atsuo, Boris’s drummer and apparentspokesman … read more
Putting Local Flair Back Into Buying Food
In 1998, as a senior environmentaleconomics major at the Universityof Utah, Ian Brandt started avegetarian food cart. Brandtoriginally intended to pursue acareer in the Utah’s ski industry,but soon discovered that said itdidn’t jive with his philosophy. “[I]saw so many flaws in that industryand how it attended to the needsof the environment,” Brandt says,“So I started trying to generatesome ideas as to what I would do tofind work.” … read more
Localized: Massacre at the Wake, Separation of Self and ViniA...
SLUG Localized presents Massacre at the Wake, Separation of Self and openers ViniA at the Urban Lounge. … read more