Authors: Conor Dow
Local Review: Prize Country – Lottery of Recognition
Prize Country Lottery of Recognition Exigent Records Street: 02.27 Prize Country = Unsane + Zeke + some Refused Formed in May of 2006, Prize Country has a way with being catchy without being infectious, fun without being a guilty pleasure and rockin’ without being masturbatory. No matter how many times I listen to this, I
Local Reviews: Old Timer
Somewhere along the foothills resides a small family company who has been forging tombstones, among other things, for more than 100 years. This happens to be the spot Old Timer utilized to record this little gem because they do not give a fuck about studio quality polish or pristine production. … read more
Local Reviews: WoO
This was a wonderful little surprise.Intrigued, not knowing at all what to expect, with zero press release and mysterious album artwork, I immediately put this in my car CD player. The result was approximately 45 minutes of minimalistic and soothing soundscapes that are comparable to what the revered Eluvium would sound like if he was marooned on a derelict space station. … read more
Local Reviews: SubRosa
When I first heard about SubRosa, I noticed their influences were made up of bands that I would drive, or have driven, hundreds of miles to see. Naturally, I was intrigued. Not only is the band a unique entity among the local scene, but they’re not exactly comparable to bands globally. With an all female lineup, these ladies deliver gloom and disdain in an extremely appealing package. … read more
Local Reviews: Sheeprizer
I will always have a deep admiration for multi-instrument musicians. Sheeprizer is a pretty standard hard rock setup by a man known as Butt Socrates, consisting of basic distorted guitars, drums and no vocals. Therein is my problem. … read more
Local Reviews: Invaders
It’s not very often I’ll get a tasty treat of chunky doom from our local bands, but holy shit, Invaders has nailed it. This humble little EP pounds three songs of heaviness into your pink, supple little ear drums without regard for whether or not you like them. As DIY as the release appears, the production is extremely high quality without much feeling of intrusive digital polish, which can often sacrifice that sweet atmospheric buzz you feel in the back of your throat. … read more
Local Reviews: Eagle Twin / Night Terror
The split album has always been a good way to discover new music that associates with projects you may already enjoy. This highly limited release is no exception, and contains one track from Salt Lake’s Eagle Twin and Night Terror. Eagle Twin’s contribution is, as always, driven heavily by excellent drumming and a great deal of dirty feedback, while Night Terror submits a strong-but-short piece of horrifying noise. … read more
Local Reviews: Townie
Townie’s CD release show in July said a lot about who they are, because the show also doubled as a benefit for Utah’s Local First organization, supporting local and independently owned businesses. Townie started humbly and has managed to remain so to this day with music that is, quite simply, rock and roll with few frills or flash, but in the best way possible. … read more
Local Reviews: The Waters Deep Here
“Ambitious as fuck” are the first few words that came to mind when I listened to this for the first time. Sunden is three tracks ranging between 12 and almost 28 minutes in length, bookended by intro and outro tracks, and separated by short but effective interludes. … read more
Local Reviews: Cherubin
Being a local, I still have to admit that Utah’s metal scene leaves a lot to be desired. That said, I’m not entirely jaded, and this album did manage to catch me off guard. Whatever fucked up inspirations Cherubin have resulted in a particularly gloomy, dismal and completely satisfying experience. … read more