Issues: Issue 270 - June 2011
Local Reviews: Adam and Darcie
Adam and Darcie continue to create a delicate blend of poetic hymnals with their new six-song EP, Early in the Morning. Each track delivers a personality that washes over the listener with effortless precision. “Linoleum,” the first track, puts a romantic spin on the original NOFX song with the aid of Darcie Sanders’ elegant vocals and features singer songwriter Drew Danburry while “Aotearoa” swells into a misty anthem of love. … read more
Local Reviews: Arson Car
As much as Arson Car would probably like to be revered as an eclectic indie-rock band with a lot of their Provo peers, the truth is their music feels more like a 90s throwback to the college-radio days. The vocals are an immediate giveaway, as if in adulation to Michael Stipe circa R.E.M.’s Reckoning album—they come across haunting and passionate with a sense of frailty. … read more
Local Reviews: Avintage
Harkening back to the alternative-pop that was popular a decade ago, Avintage have put a new spin on the anthem rock genre that met its doom when post-grunge came into fashion. Formed late last year by two college roommates, the duo picked up bandmates from around the state and quickly hit the studio with everything they had. … read more
Local Reviews: It Foot, It Ears
It Foot, It Ears is a tricky animal. One part Nick Foster from Palace of Buddies, one part Jason Rabb from Bad Yodelers fame, It Foot, It Ears is cut from the same cloth as their experimental predecessors. Day Type is full of strange tunings, even stranger time signatures, disjointed melodies, loads of negative space and pregnant pauses. … read more
Local Reviews: Scapegoat
Utah has played host to its fair share of visionaries and eccentrics. Edward Abbey, Joe Hill, Wallace Stegner and LaMonte Young (Southeast Idaho is close enough) have spent time (or died) here in Utah. Drinking from that pool of collective genius is the dark ambient artist Scapegoat. … read more
Local Reviews: Society Mis-Call
Here’s the kind of hardcore I like to see coming out of Utah. Pure Reagan-era throwback that owes more to Dischord’s Flex Your Head compilation and Midwest mutant thrash than Earth Crisis, stretched earlobes or the vegan apocalypse. Possibly recorded in a garage under water during a power outage, it’s the slightly sloppy charm, the pissed-off drill sergeant vocals and the self-deprecating wit (“We Suck”) that keeps me coming back to it. Songs range from the outlandish (“Society Mis-call”) to the accusatory (“Fuck the Lies”) to the spooky (“Halloween”). … read more
Local Reviews: Sodacon
Founder Jesse Crawford took Sodacon solo in 2008 after nearly a decade of existence, tossing the music catalog and spending over two years writing and producing new material by himself. [ed.- Sodacon has always been a solo project and has recorded six albums in the last six years] The result is Songs Of Summer, which isn’t as much a full musical experience as it is Crawford showing off. … read more
Local Reviews: Wesly
Brainchild of lead singer Wesly Lapioli, this album is neat and complete. The songwriting is clear and specific, and for local bands and debut albums, that is an admirable feat. Not having to compromise content with other band members has surely lent itself to a more definitive direction and style, and Lapioli’s inspirations have led to an album that seems to revisit the sounds of the mid-1990s grunge era. … read more
Uinta Taps Into Local Artists’ Creativity with The Crooked Line
Salt Lake City has become the unlikely location of a meticulously fashioned merger between a vibrant art scene and a competitive craft brewing community. Uinta Brewing has been long revered for its perfectly balanced selection of beers, but now it is tipping the scales with the continuation of its Crooked Line. “The Crooked Line is a blank piece of canvas to make some fun beers with fun names and [work with] fun local artists,” says Uinta president Will Hamill. … read more
High Octane Meets High Point: Wasatch’s Devastator Race Car
Jon Lee is an adrenaline junkie and self-described former “snow bum” who cut his teeth boarding fast in the Wasatch Range and the Rockies. As head brewer at the Utah Brewers Cooperative (which combines the talents of Wasatch and Squatters under one roof), Lee splits his time crafting award-winning beers and driving number 93—The Devastator—named after the popular Wasatch label brew. … read more