Issues: Issue 269 - May 2011
Local Reviews: Ferocious Oaks
Things have never quite been the same after Arcade Fire’s Funeral. The Montreal collective’s quiet-and-restrained-to-ramshackle-and-blisteringly-loud dynamic has imprinted itself all over this ambitious yet frustrating EP by Orem’s Ferocious Oaks. … read more
Local Reviews: Muscle Hawk
I like to dance, and Muscle Hawk clearly like to make my booty shake. Their music is relatively straightforward techno in the vein of European greats like Justice or Daft Punk: The bass is heavy, the beat throbbing and the samples dramatic and super-polished. … read more
Local Reviews: OK Ikumi
Orem’s Karl Jorgensen has been perfecting this blend of playful chiptune melodies, elegant Komsiche synth lines, and glitched-out beat palate for five years now. While relatively new to Jorgensen’s output, I can’t help but feel like I have stumbled on to something that has taken years to make. … read more
Local Reviews: Pablo Blaqk
Born to Cuban parents, Pablo Blaqk picked up the guitar at 18 after his father declined his request for a gun. On his debut album, Sons & Daughters, he proves he made the right choice. Co-produced by Utah favorite Joshua James, each track reveals raw emotion and beautifully composed tracks. … read more
Local Reviews: The Toros
It’s rare these days to get a punk band with a genuine political statement, let alone one tied to localized references, but The Toros have given it one hell of a shot. Reading Is Important takes aim at the Utah establishment with songs like the grinding trucker tune “Gay Agenda,” the singalong diddy “Molly Mormon,” and the hypocritical anthem “Cheerleading Is Not For Gay Boys Anymore.” … read more
Local Reviews: Virgin Sophia/VCR5
I couldn’t find much press on either of these guys, and when I did, others were just as baffled as I was. It might just be that the local scene for these two electro-beat art-noise makers is so underground it makes them seem more enigmatic then they are. … read more
Local Reviews: Deny Your Faith
The first track from Deny Your Faith’s Taste the Infection, “Pierce the Vein,” happens to be the worst cut of the release. The rest of Taste of Infection is populated by thrashy riffing, some punchy breakdowns and more than enough guitar soloing. Add some great jam-rocking moments and it’s all a damn fine release. … read more
Conserving A Culture, Framing The Future: Skate 4 Homies
“I wanted to do something that was a collective good, to show kids that they can be good and do good things together and have good things happen,” says Todd Ingersoll, founder of Skate 4 Homies. It was a little over a year ago when Ingersoll had the idea to create a non-profit organization focused around the preservation of skateboarding through youth mentoring programs. “Really, what [Skate 4 Homies] is all about is giving back, doing the community a service.” … read more
Localized – May 2011
On Saturday, May 14, roll on out to the Urban Lounge for a healthy smattering of punk rock from both ends of the spectrum. Expect a dose of sugar-sweet pop punk from The Hung Ups and an unholy strain of riotous thrash from Desolate. Problem Daughter will kickstart the sonic smorgasbord at 10 p.m. $5 gets you in. … read more
Prophets of Anarchy: The Mormon Worker
The mash-up of Mormonism and anarchism seems like a concept that would make most anarchists, not to mention the majority of mainstream Mormons, recoil. But to William Van Wagenen, publisher of The Mormon Worker, an irregularly published newspaper devoted to both Mormonism and radical politics, the two philosophies couldn’t be more compatible. … read more