Local Music Singles Roundup: May 2025
Local Music Reviews
The through line for all six of these tracks is dissent (except for the ones that aren’t about dissent). Now, just like the past, is a great time for dissent. Go march, scream, chant and maybe pick up a guitar and write about marching, screaming and chanting. It does change the world.
Berrynote
“Something From Somewhere”
Self-Released
Street: 03.06.25
Something From Somewhere = Boards of Canada x (Ceephax Acid Crew / Italo disco)
“Something From Somewhere” plays in an anxious, nostalgic Italo-disco mode, with a tense sequence of notes that phases in and out over a pretty simple three-piece drum machine. It’s groovy, if not more than a little eerie and uncanny. The track’s closest spiritual sibling is Boards of Canada — especially their early lo-fi tapes. However, Berrynote takes BoC’s maxim of “Music Is Math” a step further by utilizing Desmos — an internet graphing calculator — as both an instrument and a digital audio workspace (just check out their YouTube channel). While the song shows off Berrynote’s chops, it clocks in at just over two minutes, leaving a bit to be desired for length. It’s repetitive, hypnotic and you get the sense it would benefit from leaning further into that, going on for four or five times its runtime and allowing the listener to get into the groove. —tín Rodriguez
MOCOSOS
“Tontos”
Self-Released
Street: 04.01.25
Mocosos = Dicks + more filth and grime
I have never had the pleasure of reviewing a group that so precisely yet ham-fistedly communicates through music the dirt and desolation that characterizes the contemporary Salt Lake punk scene. It’s music by and for rodents. “Tontos,” from Mocosos’ aptly named demo, RE DEMO, gushes with raw punk energy and DIY fury. Picture Dicks (the band, not the other thing) cutting a new tape, throwing it out the window of the studio, paying a passersby to say mean things to it, putting it in a sock, using it to beat a cop, then shoving it in your cassette player and screaming the lyrics in your ear as you listen through it (in a whimsical and awesome kind of way). Then — and only then — might you be able to understand what this release seeks to accomplish in its war path to your eardrums. After seeing these guys live, I can say that punk is not dead in Salt Lake and I am very excited to see where Mocosos takes us in the coming future. —CJ Hanck
The Moonspinners
“Do You Really Need Therapy?”
Son of Dad
Street: 03.14.25
The Moonspinners = The Brobecks + Local Natives
On “Do You Really Need Therapy?” the Moonspinners deliver danceable melancholia in 3/4 time. The song opens with a sparse drum beat and a lone voice muttering, “Is that what he said, or is this just another bad day?” This barebones dejection is reminiscent of Nirvana’s “Something in the Way,” though the simplicity doesn’t last long. From the first chorus, the single blossoms with aching guitar solos, Milk Carton Kids-adjacent harmonies and a tambourine losing its shit. Between this bluesy vibe and lyrics bemoaning the inefficacy of psychoanalysis, “Do You Really Need Therapy?” is a dirge for when the walls are closing in and nothing helps. Who among us hasn’t been there? The single appears on an eponymous, five-track EP you can stream on Bandcamp or Spotify. And if you need some on-theme reading material, the cover art is a cheeky comic in which the band frustrates a psychologist who attempts to analyze them. —Joe Roberts
Rachael Jenkins
“Untitled (Accoustic)”
Self-Released
Street: 03.26.25
Rachael Jenkins = Joan Baez + Waxahatchee
Rachael Jenkins’ new track Untitled floats in the air like a butterfly. Jenkins’ guitar is subtle, nuanced and beautiful. It sounds like you are right there in the room with her. Instrumentally, this track could stand alone — Jenkins’ guitar has its own language that communicates from the heart and hurt places. Her vocals are equally beautiful, sounding like a tortured Joan Baez mixed with a little Waxahatchee. Her lyrics are like a sting from a bee on a hot summer day. “It’s tradition in my house,” Jenkins sings, “To bring the boy over, unannounced / On a mission for a spouse / Don’t you smile too big or he’ll ask for your hand / And you’ll end up alone and endowed.” Anyone who lives or grew up in this state understands this. Jenkins breaks from the tradition: “But it doesn’t matter anyhow / I don’t bat for your team now.” “Untitled (Acoustic)” is both gorgeous and jarring. The track is a painting — all temple white on a canvas, with a hidden darkness bleeding at the edges. Rachael Jenkins, I want more. —Russ Holsten
RETRAC
Corporate Cat Box
Self-Released
Street: 04.01.25
Retrac = Cult of Luna + Melvins
Retrac takes a more meaningful approach in their songwriting process by allowing their creative flow to be fueled by their fire, which led to the creation of this EP. With only two songs, “Intuit” and “Paradise,” there is ample sound to dissect. “Intuit” is defiant and full of raw energy, led by Andy Carter, who pours his anger through his sound. Carter describes the song as his “little fuck you” to the all the oppressors and corporate vultures out there, which is why this EP fits with everything punks and metalheads stand for. His insatiable appetite for justice sparks his drive and is even felt through his second song, “Paradise,” a complete 180 from “Intuit.” “Paradise” is more personal, almost as if we are listening to an audio recording of Carter’s diary. With somber lyrics and down tuned guitars, the song is a melancholy tune expressing the desire to escape our world. —Litzi Estrada
Strog
“*yawn*”
Self-Released
Street: 03.22.25
Strog = Crumb + Happyness / Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Isn’t it so messed up that the best part of sleeping is that last few moments before you wake up? The in-between of consciousness when you can’t quite feel yet, but you’re sort of remembering how to. It’s intoxicating, glorious and the sole reason I hit “snooze” over and over again. After a year of silence, Strog has awoken with the single “*yawn.*” Stretching its arms out wide and gasping for air, the track is a breath of fresh air in the Salt Lake soft-punk scene. The bubble-gaze duo creates a dynamic polarity between the instrumentals and the vocals. Thrashing drums and reverberating bass lines fly in the air while the lyrics bring them down to earth. The intro begins steadily and the choruses slow and speed up repeatedly, the rhythms begin to echo themselves. There’s nothing boring about this track, but you could easily fall asleep to it — it’s a type of thrilling tranquility. —Marzia Thomas
Read more Local Music Singles Roundups here:
Local Music Singles Roundup: April 2025
Local Music Singles Roundup: March 2025
