Month: March 2013
Local Reviews: The Trappers
Chances are that had I not come across this album for review, many of you wouldn’t have ever known it existed. This five-piece ensemble aimed for Americana with a twist of country, and they got it… in the blandest fucking possible manifestation they could have created. … read more
Local Reviews: The Hang Ups
The Hung Ups are back with their sophomore full-length, and they’re as catchy as ever! DotDB is tight and the guitars cinch each song together with intricate leads such as in “Donkey Lips.” … read more
Local Reviews: Jesus or Genome
Jesus or Genome is the new project from Mike Cundick, guitarist and occasional screamer of local rockers Loom. Those expecting the same sharp guitar licks and chaotic energy of Cundick’s other band are in for a surprise, as Jesus or Genome is a much more mellow affair, featuring only Cundick’s voice over an acoustic guitar. … read more
Local Reviews: One Strike One Rise
Bring it Back in Me is meandering, rote dirge rock. The band, at its most successful, recalls the gothic country of Songs: Ohia. At its least successful points, the vocals sound one take away from being finished, and there’s a flute needlessly warbling all over the track. … read more
Local Reviews: Punk Rock Joe
Poetry on Acid 23 is a stream-of-consciousness collection of short ditties, expressive but simple, about everything from Wal-Mart to suicide. … read more
Local Reviews: Rotten Musicans
This joint cracks me up and sets me silly in the streets with smiles and roller skates. This EPee is far from rotten, and the jams are air-tight. This is the polar opposite of the street hustler rap I’ve been tuned into, and this joint is just what the times have ordered. … read more
Local Reviews: Swindlers
The four-piece experimental rockers out of Provo are known best for their live house shows, complete with lights and fog, turning a regular venue show into an experience. Bands who can pull that off will have an audience no matter where they go, but translating that experience onto a recording rarely works. … read more
Local Reviews: Tough Tittie
Tough Tittie are hitting us with a five-song EP plus the entire album Pink Roid Rage all on one disc. From the first track on the Stomach Transplant portion, “The Introducer,” Tough Tittie takes the goofiness of the Weirdos and reformulates it into a bar-band punk style. … read more
Local Reviews: Twisted Axis
If Nickelback and Black Sabbath were forced to combine forces, this is the product of that sad, sad scenario. Twisted Axis has a lot of ’70s rock influences, which is all well and good, but there is also a definite early 2000s radio “rock” music direction they tend to lean toward. The vocals are pretty weak, and there’s no real spark in the music, but I can see how people could like it. … read more
Local Reviews: Ugly Valley Boys
Traditional, American roots and hillbilly are all adjectives that have somewhat permeated into the underbelly of “country music.” With all the negative connotations and pop music associated with the current state of country music, it pains me to call this country. … read more