Issues: Issue 299 - November 2013
Review: Brianna Lea Pruett – Gypsy Bells
The sparse sounds of Pruett’s voice with her acoustic guitar reflect the topography of the West, with her folk tales coming across as a lone traveler passing through those vast landscapes. … read more
Review: Broken Hope – Omen Of Disease
There’s been a lot of waiting and anticipation for this record—though maybe misplaced anticipation, because there are quite a few death metal bands from the 90s that I feel did a lot better than what Broken Hope ever did, but that’s just my taste. … read more
Review: Carnivores – Second Impulse
A drumbeat just shy of lo-fi, a thin, spineless guitar with a tone so frail and twangy it feels cute (which is not a bad thing) and a 60s-sounding synth unite Second Impulse despite the vocalists switching from one track to the next. … read more
Review: Black Books – Self-Titled
Black Books write big songs confined to small places. There is an epic and anthemic quality to Black Book’s cloistered little pop songs: a driving, pulsing urge to express something too huge for words written in broad brush strokes of soaring choruses and the diffused light of atmospheric passages oozing out of guitars and synths that blend ambient colorings into vital, crunchy power chords. … read more
Review: Black Hearted Brother – Stars Are Our Home
After fronting the legendary shoegaze band Slowdive, and then moving on to the delicate folk on Mojave 3 and his own solo output, Neil Halstead has returned to the free-floating psychedelia of heavily affected guitars and synthesizers with his new band, Black Hearted Brother. … read more
Review: 3:33 – Bicameral Brain
While listening to this, I realized I had been taken on a journey into deep ambient darkness. The sounds of rain, thunder, hollowed echoing of the drumbeats, sizzling snare and pulsating bass had carried me into a sort of void. … read more
Localized: Problem Daughter
This month’s Localized is a cross-section of SLC punk: the visceral, dissonant hardcore punk of Foster Body, the surf-soaked party punk of JAWWZZ!! and the acerbic, bittersweet pop punk of Problem Daughter. These bands have shared bills over the last few years—Foster Body and JAWWZZ!! even share a drummer. They all name each other among
R&R Barbecue: Award-Winning Eats
Barbecue has always played by its own rules, which don’t usually coincide with those of most restaurants. It takes no shame in its finger-licking messiness, its closely guarded recipe secrets or its proclivity for gigantic portions. Be that as it may, I was present at KUER’s Savory Salt Lake event last June when R&R Barbecue took home both the Celebrity Judge and the People’s Choice awards—it was a moment that made me stop and take notice. … read more
Jed’s: The Friendly Neighborhood Barber Shop
People have been going to the barber to keep up with their hygiene as well as to fraternize with their neighbors. The act of getting one’s hair cut is so personal and intimate that it is not uncommon for a barber to become a person’s confidant. The barber shop as a place for neighbors and camaraderie is an ideal that Jed Beal holds close to his heart. He opened Jed’s Barbershop not only for himself, but to also give back to his community. … read more
Somebody Else’s Baby: Understanding the Mechanics of Andy Farnsworth
Andy wanted to do a show here in SLC that granted comics the same opportunity to perform a set-list style of comedy. Since the idea is actually somebody else’s baby, he named the show just that: Somebody Else’s Baby. Farnsworth says, “Each time, we feature a picture of a new baby on the screen. Sometimes I steal the pictures from the photography studio on South Temple, the giant babies with the hoods.” … read more