Pelpp and A. Vanvranken Pedal Pelpp and A. Vanvranken = Worm is Green + Bjork’s Vespertine – vocals Electro-ambiance flutters in the deepening twilight; machines have warmth too. Like the sophisticated, emotional electronic renderings of Iceland’s Worm is Green, Pelpp and A. Vanvranken is minimal but powerful—knows when adding just one more note would
Nothing For Now The Veil NFN = Alkaline Trio + AFI + Dashboard Confessional The best way to become self-assured is to get an ego first and then force yourself to live up to it, but Nothing For Now considers themselves a bit too epic. These recent SLC immigrants should heed the age-old wisdom
Nolens Volens Faux EP Nolens Volens = Bjork + Rope or Bullets + The Anniversary It is obvious that Nolens Volens has a wide range of musical tastes—it’s probably a good idea they didn’t try to mix them all together simultaneously. Instead, they line up synth-pop ranging from spastically blippy to catchy next to
Phono The Changeover 10 Degree Productions Street: 2006 Phono = NIN + VNV Nation Joe Ashton terrorizes electronic music with a focus bent on rhythm. Were you to spread the parts out, name checking the various influences that are prevalent on The Changeover you’d find just about every industrial/EBM clich, minus Skinny Puppy’s vocoder. Violence,
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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