Local CD Reviews
Issue 232 / April 2008 More from this Issue
All Systems Fail/Sarcasmo
Split 7"
Jornalero Distro
Street: 2.10. 2008
All Systems Fail/Sarcasmo = Nausea + Discharge
This 7" was two years in the making and unfortunately for fans of either band, the sound quality just doesn't do them justice. Sarcasmo hails from Mexico and their four-song side of the 7" features angry punk rock reminiscent of the 80s. Although the sound quality is a bit tinny, I get the feeling that they would be amazing to see in a tiny basement venue like Red Light. The All Systems Fail side features three songs recorded by Andy Patterson during their recording session of their first 7". "Shadows of Repression" and "Presos Politicos" are the band's stand out tracks. Only 600 copies were pressed so make sure to snag one before they are sold out. Jeanette Moses
Declaration
Panic Button
Muse Music Records
Street: 12.01.06
Declaration = Built To Spill + Ladybug Transistor
Declaration vacillates from Ben Folds Five piano-ballad quietude ("Half Inch Man") to humdrum restless lethargy ("Headlines") all while maintaining a melodically mellow, simple-yet-engaging tone. Perhaps the best compliment for Panic Button is that you will fast find yourself singing along to most of the album's catchy refrains, naturally grafted onto the album's crescendo-crashing guitar riffs and cymbal-heavy drum displays. Declaration is a good old guitar-and-piano band, decidedly less "in your face" than their list of unsurprising influences (Modest Mouse, Fugazi, Built To Spill, Radiohead, Sonic Youth, and the category-defying Death Cab for Cutie and Sunny Day Real Estate). Makena Walsh
Digital Lov/How to Get Down
Digital Lov/How to Get Down
Unsigned
Street: 01.15.08
Digital Lov/How To Get Down = Pink Spiders + a techno virginWhat a team! Digital Lov and Tyler Sorensen's How to Get Down get together to produce an album that most computer-literate people could make with the Fruity Loops program. When it comes to electronica, leave it to experts like Cut Copy and Daft Punk to put out hits. Word of advice to How to Get Down: we've already heard enough about Anna Nicole and there is no reason to write a song about her. As for Digital Lov, they should consider disassociating from Sorenson's project. Rather than wasting time teaming up with a "musician" from isolated parts of the state, they could be getting a better feel for the electronic genre. It's catchy and easy to dance to, but it lacks the experience needed. The album of 11 tracks should have been split into two from the beginning. (Burts Tiki Lounge 4.23) Lyuba Basin
Dreadnought
S/T
Independent
Street: 03.29.08
Dreadnought = everything amazing about music
Dreadnought is back again to rock your face off. I had the distinct privilege of reviewing their first album and I wanted to see how the band had progressed in their heavy alternative sound. I also wanted to see if their musical prowess had grown. After hearing the first few songs of this six-song EP I was convinced that they had definitely raised the bar. Singer David's vocals are yet again blaring his way to the top. I truly didn't think that his vocals could have gotten any louder and they have, especially on the third track, "Fear of Falling." My reaction after hearing this song was plain and simply "wow!" I can't wait to hear how their music will progress on the next EP. Only time will tell. Keep it up, Dreadnought; you can only go up from here. Jon Robertson
Ghastly Hatchling
Writhe
Red Light Sound
Street: 02.22.08
Ghastly Hatchling = Black Dice + Sissy Spacek
It seems that everyone and his leather-clad dog in Salt Lake is a "noise band" these days. As you may have experienced, half of these follow the "turn on machines, wave hands around, tweak knobs in an angry fashion, call it a piece of music" aesthetic. Not so with Aaron Zillionaire's (ne Smith) Ghastly Hatchling project, as his work reflects a masterful, patient human interaction with his instruments. He carefully guides his meager sonic source, the grinding skronk of a dump truck shifting gears despite a blown clutch (or so it seems), while paying attention to tension, release, form, harmony, settling into and exploring the pitch of each screech before moving onto new ideas during the near-22-minute "Ergot, Belladonna, and Cakecrumbs," and six-minute coda "Laminated Testicles and Blown Fuses." On Writhe, Smith shows that he understands development, augmentation, cadences, intriguing soundscapes and everything else that makes for interesting music. Dave Madden
Hew Mun
Scintillated Garble
ASR
Street: 01.19.08
Hew Mun = Aye Aye + Sebadoh + Black Dice
I've heard music like this described before as sculpture, and that really seems to fit this release. Though I do not mean a solid, statuesque figure-this is something far more abstract, almost void of shape, yet still symmetrical and meticulously crafted from every imaginable source of raw material. At first listen Matthew Munn, the man behind this collection of songs, seems to be creating a noise record. But listen closely, as melodies and slightly off time signatures creep their way through the tape loops to the surface. And though the initial abrasive nature of these songs may turn off the casual listener, let me encourage you to give it at least a second try. These primitive, multi-instrumental song-scapes will cinch right around your heart, and the more you listen to it the more it will seem like the right soundtrack to the afternoon as you clean out the basement. That is, or course, if your basement is as creepy as my own. James Bennett
Split 7"
Jornalero Distro
Street: 2.10. 2008
All Systems Fail/Sarcasmo = Nausea + Discharge
This 7" was two years in the making and unfortunately for fans of either band, the sound quality just doesn't do them justice. Sarcasmo hails from Mexico and their four-song side of the 7" features angry punk rock reminiscent of the 80s. Although the sound quality is a bit tinny, I get the feeling that they would be amazing to see in a tiny basement venue like Red Light. The All Systems Fail side features three songs recorded by Andy Patterson during their recording session of their first 7". "Shadows of Repression" and "Presos Politicos" are the band's stand out tracks. Only 600 copies were pressed so make sure to snag one before they are sold out. Jeanette Moses
Declaration
Panic Button
Muse Music Records
Street: 12.01.06
Declaration = Built To Spill + Ladybug Transistor
Declaration vacillates from Ben Folds Five piano-ballad quietude ("Half Inch Man") to humdrum restless lethargy ("Headlines") all while maintaining a melodically mellow, simple-yet-engaging tone. Perhaps the best compliment for Panic Button is that you will fast find yourself singing along to most of the album's catchy refrains, naturally grafted onto the album's crescendo-crashing guitar riffs and cymbal-heavy drum displays. Declaration is a good old guitar-and-piano band, decidedly less "in your face" than their list of unsurprising influences (Modest Mouse, Fugazi, Built To Spill, Radiohead, Sonic Youth, and the category-defying Death Cab for Cutie and Sunny Day Real Estate). Makena Walsh
Digital Lov/How to Get Down
Digital Lov/How to Get Down
Unsigned
Street: 01.15.08
Digital Lov/How To Get Down = Pink Spiders + a techno virginWhat a team! Digital Lov and Tyler Sorensen's How to Get Down get together to produce an album that most computer-literate people could make with the Fruity Loops program. When it comes to electronica, leave it to experts like Cut Copy and Daft Punk to put out hits. Word of advice to How to Get Down: we've already heard enough about Anna Nicole and there is no reason to write a song about her. As for Digital Lov, they should consider disassociating from Sorenson's project. Rather than wasting time teaming up with a "musician" from isolated parts of the state, they could be getting a better feel for the electronic genre. It's catchy and easy to dance to, but it lacks the experience needed. The album of 11 tracks should have been split into two from the beginning. (Burts Tiki Lounge 4.23) Lyuba Basin
Dreadnought
S/T
Independent
Street: 03.29.08
Dreadnought = everything amazing about music
Dreadnought is back again to rock your face off. I had the distinct privilege of reviewing their first album and I wanted to see how the band had progressed in their heavy alternative sound. I also wanted to see if their musical prowess had grown. After hearing the first few songs of this six-song EP I was convinced that they had definitely raised the bar. Singer David's vocals are yet again blaring his way to the top. I truly didn't think that his vocals could have gotten any louder and they have, especially on the third track, "Fear of Falling." My reaction after hearing this song was plain and simply "wow!" I can't wait to hear how their music will progress on the next EP. Only time will tell. Keep it up, Dreadnought; you can only go up from here. Jon Robertson
Ghastly Hatchling
Writhe
Red Light Sound
Street: 02.22.08
Ghastly Hatchling = Black Dice + Sissy Spacek
It seems that everyone and his leather-clad dog in Salt Lake is a "noise band" these days. As you may have experienced, half of these follow the "turn on machines, wave hands around, tweak knobs in an angry fashion, call it a piece of music" aesthetic. Not so with Aaron Zillionaire's (ne Smith) Ghastly Hatchling project, as his work reflects a masterful, patient human interaction with his instruments. He carefully guides his meager sonic source, the grinding skronk of a dump truck shifting gears despite a blown clutch (or so it seems), while paying attention to tension, release, form, harmony, settling into and exploring the pitch of each screech before moving onto new ideas during the near-22-minute "Ergot, Belladonna, and Cakecrumbs," and six-minute coda "Laminated Testicles and Blown Fuses." On Writhe, Smith shows that he understands development, augmentation, cadences, intriguing soundscapes and everything else that makes for interesting music. Dave Madden
Hew Mun
Scintillated Garble
ASR
Street: 01.19.08
Hew Mun = Aye Aye + Sebadoh + Black Dice
I've heard music like this described before as sculpture, and that really seems to fit this release. Though I do not mean a solid, statuesque figure-this is something far more abstract, almost void of shape, yet still symmetrical and meticulously crafted from every imaginable source of raw material. At first listen Matthew Munn, the man behind this collection of songs, seems to be creating a noise record. But listen closely, as melodies and slightly off time signatures creep their way through the tape loops to the surface. And though the initial abrasive nature of these songs may turn off the casual listener, let me encourage you to give it at least a second try. These primitive, multi-instrumental song-scapes will cinch right around your heart, and the more you listen to it the more it will seem like the right soundtrack to the afternoon as you clean out the basement. That is, or course, if your basement is as creepy as my own. James Bennett
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