If I didn’t already, now I certainly feel like a child. There must be a secret to make an album friendly and inviting, and Mushman’s got the ingredients. Step 1: Start off with lovely acoustic guitars. Step 2: Add in a clarinet, harmonica and some keys. Step 3: Mix gently with sweet melodies and vocals, and last, but not least, Step 4: The “special” sauce, a local twist. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Sunnyside
Two very eccentric, elderly men who are quasi-neighbors and buddies in Northern California—one a sound-designer, the other an anarcho-architect—go about their business, talking everything and anything with whatever Carbon happened to catch on film. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End
The best of art comes from the creation that follows destruction. Mr. Fish: Cartooning From The Deep End is a documentary full of raw, ugly, animated humanity that respects that tension. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Man on Fire
With information moving at unprecedented speeds and the concept of truth becoming increasingly distorted, definitive and drastic actions speak louder than ever. Such is the case with reverend Charles Moore, the subject of Joel Fendelman’s new documentary. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Mexman
Germán Alonso’s main project is Mexman, an idea Alonso first worked on for his senior thesis at USC. It’s a crazy story—one about a Mexican immigrant who comes to America for a better future, who then dies unexpectedly and is subsequently turned into a “cyborg slave.” … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Instant Dreams
In this visual essay, Baptist mirrors the power of photography, fixating on the Polaroid as not only an artistic medium, but also a decisive technology and cultural document, a record of time that continually develops and evolves with the contemporary world. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Ingrid
After so many years of being an urban creative and mother, Ingrid Gipson traded her life in Texas to pursue a more lonesome one in Oklahoma, where she could surround herself with creative projects and nature, as well as her own independence and creativity. … read more
Local Reviews: Cavedoll
Cavedoll carelessly litter genres new wave, post punk, IDM, industrial, 70s glam, ethereal, darkwave, indie, trip-hop and avant-garde pop throughout their music without claiming allegiance to anything beyond their own musings. They’re a writer’s nightmare in their refusal to sit still long enough to be described; a detail further emphasized when the band decides to unleash its complete collection of unreleased material all at once. … read more
Local Reviews: Dacho
I have much love for Dacho. Chief and Doc are probably the two nicest, most chill individuals you will ever meet. This seven-song album marks a proper studio release from the band and, although the production quality lacks a little, the two wonder twins straight-up do work on the music on this album. The musicianship here is exceptional. … read more
Local Reviews: Danger Hailstorm
I wish I could say that all local bands suck and that Utah doesn’t have any talent (you know, for national “street cred”), but when bands like Danger Hailstorm drop in my lap I can’t pretend anymore. This three-piece can gnash its teeth. … read more
Local Reviews: Erratic Erotica
This album is like the opening of a dimly lit film reel, starring one finetuned band that could morph into two separate perfomances, much like the theatrics in Xanadu. Playing is melodically haunting vaudeville like the Dresden Dolls, yet more emotionally frantic and energetic like Gogol Bordello. … read more
Local Reviews: The Furs
No need to worry PETA, The Furs aren’t out to collect helpless animals, but they could be turning Salt Lake into the next Haight-Ashbury. Although our hippies reside mainly at the Sunday drum circle, we have been getting a healthy dose of local psychedelic music. … read more
