Nic Smith has grown into the feature writer that he is today, as he deftly covers music, art and culture in Salt Lake City. … read more
Contributor Limelight: Nic Smith
Heels, Wigs and All the Rage: Hedwig and the Angry Inch @ Eccles Theater
Hedwig and the Angry Inch bring comical banter, Utah-focused jokes, unbeatable musical talent and a remarkable story to the SLC scene as Hedwig enters the stage in pumps, glitter and all the rage. … read more
Local Reviews: Apache, The
Apache, The, is not Drew Danburry. Seriously. Stop calling them that. Although Danburry may be on vocals here and his characteristically verbose songwriting is all over this introductory eight song EP, this is a hairy beast of a record that is hardly the positivist, restrained acoustic music Danburry is known for playing. … read more
Local Reviews: Arsenic Addiction
Salt Lake’s Arsenic Addiction have returned from their well-received debut EP Requiem of the Fallen to offer a follow-up of a more expansive, more lavishly produced and finer tuned full-length with An Undertaker’s Lament. … read more
Local Reviews: Burnell Washburn
It’s good to hear quality hip hop produced right here in SLC. Burnell Washburn is young and his inexperience is evident, but that’s not a bad thing. I’m tired of too many veterans touring on the strength of some radio hit from 1994. Burn. … read more
Local Reviews: Exer Ovu
Circular Blood Stains on My Family Crest has to have been recorded outside of Kilby Court by the campfire. If that’s not the case, then it was most likely recorded in my dad’s bathroom while he was in there doing his business. … read more
Local Reviews: The Furies
Glow’s opener, “Death of Man,” could be an okay rock track if properly recorded. But, you know that whisper-scream people do when quoting a scream from a song/movie? Well, the Furies recorded that for some reason. Many tracks are just noises—a door closing, a repeating guitar pattern, random drums and arbitrary, incoherent 12-inch-whisper vocals. … read more
Local Reviews: Ghosts of Cinema
How does one reject both time and color? Some sort of laser? In trying to avoid the pitfall of lyrical content focused solely on relationship drama, the young Ghosts of Cinema reach for some pretty ambitious, yet ridiculously obtuse subject matter on their debut album. … read more
Local Reviews: Harbor Royale
It pains me to be a Debbie Downer about music, but when the first 35 seconds of the album make me want to scratch my ears off my head, I find it necessary. On one hand, Aspirations would sell at Hot Topic to girls with too much eyeliner, without question. … read more
Local Reviews: Mark Dago
Plain and simple, this is one of the better local CDs I have been lucky enough to come across. SelfHighFive is a testament to the talent in the area—the production is tight, the beats hit your ears crisp and clear, and the dude’s lyrics are sharp. … read more
Local Reviews: Red Pete
Red Pete hits the nail on the head in the first song “Best Defense” when singer/bassist Keith Callister sings, “You tripped a landmine in my head.” I couldn’t have said or sung it better myself there, Keith—a landmine has definitely been tripped in my head by your sweet, jiving jams. … read more
Local Reviews: Righteous Audio Werks
Vocal-free reggae is amazing. It elevates the standard genre above just something to get stoned to and takes it to a level similar to jazz. That may be a bold statement, but bold bands like Righteous Audio Werks (RAW) are happy to do it. … read more
