Top 5: Danny Brown

Right from the first track (“Side A [Old]”), it’s obvious that this ain’t that old Danny Brown shit. He takes us there, into his old life—his mom braiding hair on the front porch (“25 Bucks”) and a crackhead burning off his lip doing stove hits (“Torture”). But this is new territory for Brown. Old strays from the minimalist and vocal-centric emphasis of XXX and the ’90s-worship of The Hybrid, and shows that Brown is as versatile and conceptual as ever. Old is more put-together, more focused around each song’s vibe or story. … read more

Top 5: my bloody valentine

My Bloody Valentine playing a live show.

Twenty years of rumors, side projects and silence after my bloody valentine’s Kevin Shields announced the band’s progress on a follow-up to their shoegaze genesis, Loveless, my bloody valentine self-released m b v along with a deep sigh of relief. Though the band is the brainchild of Irish teenagers in the ’90s, my bloody valentine’s m b v stands out as an organic output incubated into perfection and birthed at just the right moment to head our generation’s reclamation of ’90s attitude and aesthetic. … read more

Top 5: Daughter

It’s hard to put into words the emotions that Daughter’s full-length debut, If You Leave, bring up. Each time I turn it on, it’s as if Elena Tonra’s voice is reaching deep into my soul and shaking up all of those miserable, broken-hearted experiences, and then serving them back to me in a beautifully decorated, melancholy cocktail.  … read more

Top 5: Pharmakon

Margaret Chardiet crafts industrial noise music under the project name Pharmakon. Over the past few years, she has slowly built a name for herself (and her friends) in an isolated music bunker located in the Far Rockaway, NYC. Chardiet’s work is intended to be experienced live, but for those of us who have not had this opportunity, the Abandon EP is a substitution.  … read more

Gallery Stroll: My MOCA, UMOCA

“Girl in Pink” by local artist Josh Winegar, showing at UMOCA through Nov. 23.

The Salt Lake Gallery Stroll takes place the third Friday of every month. Galleries use this occasion to celebrate local and national artists with incoming shows, special receptions, artist talks and tasty treats. This month’s Gallery Stroll takes place on Nov. 15, offering a range of shows from group collaborations and retrospectives to avant-garde animations—and that’s just the shows at UMOCA this month!  … read more

Top 5: Galactic Cannibal

Pist, agitated and frothing at the mouth, We’re Fucked erupts with jovial violence meant as a blueprint for shout-alongs at live punk shows. Reviewers—and the band itself—have dichotomized Galactic Cannibal’s sound as being “pop punk + hardcore,” which skirts that this record is a short, sharp shock of street punk with its catchy gang vocals and major-key progressions coupled with vocalist Peter J Woods’ snarling assault. We’re Fucked, however, transcends these sonic genre conventions … … read more

Top 5: J.D. Wilkes and the Dirt Daubers

Earlier this year, I was stunned and saddened to hear of the breakup of Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers, the band that Col. J.D. Wilkes fronted and took from obscurity to prominence. With the exit of longtime bass player Mark Robinson, Wilkes decided to start a new chapter with his wife, Jessica Wilkes, who was already a part of J.D.’s mountain string band, The Dirt Daubers. Jessica takes on bass playing and shares lead vocal duties in the new incarnation. … read more

Dear Dickheads – November 2013

I go to shows at Urban Lounge pretty frequently. It’s a relatively clean, intimate venue where I know the sound quality is gonna be consistent, I’m not gonna break the bank buying a ticket, and I can grab a drink while I listen to my favorite bands. However, the drink part of the Urban Lounge experience is starting to become a problem for myself and other music lovers, and someone’s gotta bring attention to it. … read more