Nolens Volens Fuck Imogen Heap Billygoat Database Street: 08.03 Nolens Volens = VCR Quintet + Tigerbeat6 + nonnon In my last review I made intimations of Andrew being the love child of disco and kid606. In this latest release Andrew has grown up and produced a tighter but not altogether better record than previous releases.
Omeed has a nice Aesop Rock sort of gritty feel to his voice, but he does this half-rap-half-sing-song thing that sounds silly. Status isn’t a bad album, but it sounds no different and no better than the same cookie-cutter hip hop that we’re all so tired of. … read more
Officer Jenny The Gods Must Be Giddy, a Gaggle of Unexceptional Songs Written for Unexceptional People Self-Released Street: 05.31 Officer Jenny = Sufjan Stevens + The Shins Provo’s Stephen Cope, who performs under the Pokémon-inspired moniker, Officer Jenny, offers up an understated, personal and, at times, campy album in his debut. Gods starts off
Orem Owls Index Hel Audio Street: 04.07 Orem Owls = Oneohtrix Point Never + Ben Best & Karl Jørgensen + Neotantrik I appreciate the work that Hel Audio is doing, quite a bit. It is a local label supporting fringe music, such as that made by Orem Owls, with several artists regularly participating in showcases
Pentagraham Crackers Live! From the Palace of Payne Chthonic Records Street: 05.31 Pentagraham Crackers = Dan Sartain + The Mr. T Experience The fluid tempo and mood in Live! From the Palace of Payne flow from upbeat in one track, to depressive and longing in another. The genre seems fluid, too, and pinning it down
For their second album, Provo’s Parlor Hawk looked to make a slight departure from the sound of Hoarse & Roaming—their 2010 Northplatte Records release that seemed heavily influenced by producer Joshua James—and dabble a bit more in the rock side of their indie rock/folk genre. … read more
The Unbeatable Sound of Plastic, the second full-length record from Salt Lake’s Pink Lightning, straddles the line that separates gritty blues and ‘70s rock, and fucking breaks everything in between. … read more
It’s not often that a baritone voice sticking to a few sustained notes hooks me. It’s more rare when the band comes from Utah County.
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Happy Valley pop rock is alive and well with the Provo band No Sleep’s self-titled full-length. Guitarist Matthias Hammon’s shimmering, fingerpicked arpeggios dominate the somewhat spare production with the sweet-without-saccharine vocals of Shelby Crawley, who shares vocal duties with Hammon. … read more
Karl Jørgensen, you rat bastard, what have you done with my brain? I have fallen in love with this album and refuse to take it off repeat. … read more
This stuff was groan-inducing the first time I heard it, strolling through Zuccotti Park a few years back. (I think I have a hand signal to show how much I like it, too.) … read more
This getup is a strong example of some good alt-thrash-rock in a well-produced and beautifully packaged full length. They write some sweet guitar solos on tracks like “Awaken the Fire” and “Twenty Seven,” but the strongest song on this album, hands down, is “Farewell.” … read more
