Finally, a band that proves that Utah ska doesn’t need to be the realm of high school band nerds with a Reel Big Fish fetish! The Upstarts deliver some seriously awesome ska, chock full of soul and a whole heap of energy. … read more
Local Reviews: Various Artists
Giving SLUG’s Death By Salt recordings a run for the money as “Best Local Compilation”, Slowtrain presents a well produced record of previously unreleased tunes by some of Utah’s favorite alt-country or acoustic soloists. … read more
Local Reviews: The VCR Quintet
The freshest and most exciting stuff to come out of Salt Lake is the local noise scene. 2006 saw the amazing album by The Tenets of Balthazar’s Castle (a top five of Andrew Glassett) and 2007 is set with a new release by The VCR Quintet. … read more
Local Reviews: I Hate Girls with Bruises
The Salt Lake City noise scene is blowing up and it is no small part to the concerted and concentrated efforts of one Aaron Zillionaire. On this release, Zillionaire and collaborator Tia Martinez, haven’t gone the usual route of penetrating noise and obtuse shocking visuals that subordinate the sound, but have taken this one track opus and made it sound as if you were in an industrial warehouse full of machines moving blending and echoing in harmonious unison. … read more
Local Reviews: I Hear Sirens
The influences behind I Hear Sirens are somewhat exterior in nature. It is easy to sense a little Sigur Ros here and a little Mono there, but IHS has brought their own brand of ethereal substrate to help revive the delineating post-rock enzyme. … read more
Local Reviews: Night Terror
Clocking in at a diminutive 12 minutes in length, Jared Russell’s Night Terror Primitive Reaction is getting a mixed reaction. At 12 minutes it’s just enough of a conceptual build-up to maintain interest, but one wonders whether or not would still sound fresh if it had been longer. To his credit, he knows when to fold’em. … read more
Local Reviews: Vile Blue Shades
The aptly named Triple Threat CD collects the three out-of-print VBS albums;Dark Wizard, Bottle of Pain and Obleaske of the Orb onto one shiny super-saver disc. VBS is like a great mixed drink, combining everything in just the right proportion. … read more
Book Review: We Are The Clash
Authors Mark Andersen and Ralph Heibutzki take the history of the turbulent political struggles of the 1980s and combine with the legendary fall of The Clash. … read more
Roots Runnin’ Wild: An interview with Chuck Ragan
Chuck Ragan is one of those artists that has the ability to speak to a vast amount of different people. He’s a punk rocker with roots. He’s an outdoorsman, a poet and he’s able to tap into those things and be relevant. Though we may have awhile to wait for new music from Chuck, I know that it’ll be worth the wait. … read more
Ryley Walker @ Kilby Court 09.28 w/ Health&Beauty
When Ryley Walker took the stage, he briefly said hello before diving into material from his latest album, Deafman Glance, which is one of my faves from this year so far. He started with “Telluride Speed,” a great choice from the album and a perfect beginning to our evening together. … read more
Review: The Lemon Twigs – Go To School
The Lemon Twigs = Meatloaf + The Who + Curious George … read more
New City Movement: 20 Years of Groove
Jesse Walker of New City Movement has been one of the founding fathers of electronic music in Salt Lake City for nearly three decades now. … read more
