Authors: Spencer Ingham
Blonde Grizzly Year One
When I walked into Blonde Grizzly, owners Caleb and Hillary Barney greeted me immediately and were happy to show me their latest addition to the gallery. It wasn’t a painting and it wasn’t a T-shirt or a new piece of jewelry. It was their brand new bundle of joy in a baby carriage, Lily. She slept quietly as we chatted, snug and cozy between the fixtures and decorative art lining the walls of the independent shop, which is celebrating its one-year anniversary this month. … read more
Local Review: MiNX – 13
The duo behind MiNX has always been experimental in their approach to music. Just attend one of their live shows with their costumed antics and you’ll get a clear idea of their creative nature. … read more
Local Reviews: Fox Van Cleef
Fox Van Cleef couldn’t have picked a better title for their first full-length album. The five-piece ensemble have blended elements of funk, psychedelic, rock and blues into a overwhelming concoction of music that doesn’t really match any other Utah band. … read more
Local Reviews: The Toros
It’s rare these days to get a punk band with a genuine political statement, let alone one tied to localized references, but The Toros have given it one hell of a shot. Reading Is Important takes aim at the Utah establishment with songs like the grinding trucker tune “Gay Agenda,” the singalong diddy “Molly Mormon,” and the hypocritical anthem “Cheerleading Is Not For Gay Boys Anymore.” … 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: Joel Brown
It’s not my place to complain about or bash on religious music. If you enjoy a good gospel number or a rock anthem about heaven, so be it. However, much like the dreaded Parental Advisory label, Christian albums should come with a sticker shaped like a cross so you know what it is. … read more
Local Reviews: Split Lid
The great thing about the alternative metal push in the early ’00s was that headline bands recognized they all had a distinct sound and did their best not to copy one another. Everyone following them, however, did, and have not stopped since 2001. … 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: 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