Music
SLUG Magazine’s collection of reviews covering the latest and greatest of Utah-based music, covering all varieties of genre, style and type.
Local Reviews: Various Artists
Rock, pop, indie, ambient, hip hop, singer-songwriter, jazz, metal––it’s all here, and it’s all as local as the lake-effect, but way better. For 2010, The Rock Salt has given us a damn canorous cornucopia (thanks dictionary.com). … read more
Local Reviews: Reviver
Reviver is indisputably one of the hardest-working bands in Utah, and their dedication shows in this latest EP. Potential Wasteland is a hardcore tribute to doing exactly what it is that you want to do without letting the totalitarian structure and guilt of the surrounding system hold you down. … read more
Local Reviews: Parlor Hawk
Hoarse & Roaring is an impeccable record, but whether that’s a good thing depends on the listener. On one hand, Joshua James did a great job producing (and apparently inspiring the band’s sound). The downside is that this album sounds like the equivalent of that guy at a party who looks like he spent a little too much time on his outfit—it makes me suspicious. … read more
Local Reviews: Location Location
This is some contrived, pop-ass, middle-aged rock. Yet despite its lame genre and lame intentions, it is actually pretty good for what it is. The songwriting is well-crafted and incorporates interesting background percussion and effects. … read more
Local Reviews: La Farsa
La Farsa’s visual packaging, replete with feather boas, top hats, elbow-length gloves and evening gowns, when paired with their survey sample of twentieth-century musical styles that includes soul, blues, doo-wop and a strange type of Balkan-gypsy minstrel-show thing going on, speaks for a band born in the wrong century. … read more
Local Reviews: Fox Van Cleef
These Ogden boys sound like the kind of blues you might have found in a smokey tavern 30 years ago where the drinks were cheap and the waitresses underdressed. The first vocal line by Dustin Bessire on “Somethin’ ‘bout the Way and Groovy Tuesdays” is a dead ringer for Dr. John, with a low, throaty growl behind the wail. … read more
Local Reviews: Various Artists
The first release from Utah Heavy Guitar Rock Records is a free compilation with Volume 2 already at its heels. The aptly-titled comp of 10 artists is a stark eye-opener, showcasing some serious guitar chops as well as strong songwriting abilities. … read more
Local Reviews: The Lionelle
Musically, The Lionelle could easily exist as a simple vehicle for Tate Law’s strange but drop-dead affecting voice. Law’s vocals, if you haven’t heard them, sound like a mix between a collapsed-lung Tim Kasher and an emotionally attached Johnny Whitney. … read more
Local Reviews: Joseph (The Voluptuary) Smith
The most striking thing about this record, straight off the bat, is that the all-black plastic CD case has a small castle (temple?) adorned with a sparkly mushroom placed on the middle of the cover—that’s three-dimensionally, sticking out about three inches! … read more
Local Reviews: Exer Ovu
Exer Ovu, the acoustic music project of Derek Griffith, uniquely combines the energy of acoustic punk with the flamboyance of freak folk. Griffith has an expressive voice that he uses mostly to good effect, notably on opener “You’re Making Me Nervous,” a minute-long blast of hoarse four-chord punk. … read more