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 Review: Erin Haley – Catastrophe Fantastic
Erin Haley Catastrophe Fantastic Erin Haley = Ani DiFranco + Regina Spektor + Russian accent It’s clear Erin Haley is loaded with talent, and luckily, she has a great recording to promote herself. I probably hear two or three new hopeful major-label piano/singing divas appear on the musical horizon every month, and Erin has just as
Local Review: Die Monster Die – Only the Dead Will...
Die Monster Die Only the Dead Will Survive Dr. Cyclops Records Die Monster Die = Misfits + Slipknot It’s another Die Monster Die release, and nothing is different from previous releases, but it’s still good. For those not aware of DMD, they are heavily Misfits-influenced with a straight-ahead rock sound and an obsession with zombies,
Local Review: Day of Less – Porcaria
Day of Less Porcaria Exigent Records Day of Less = Gaza (of course) + High on Fire + Converge (kind of) Um. Yeah. This is probably the heaviest music I’ve heard come out of Salt Lake since The Kill. I don’t even think Iodina was this heavy, cowboys. I’m glad it fell on my last
Local Review: Beard of Solitude – Broken Brain EP
Beard of Solitude Broken Brain EP, Beardo II EP, Fun in the Afternoon single Croakfrog Records Beard of Solitude = your mother’s record collection , the crappy, cheesy stuff Y’know, I don’t even know if I was supposed to review this, but hey, it’ll be fun. It’s a whole buncha Beard stuff on one CD for
Local Review: Agape – Self-titled EP
Agape Self-titled EP Agape = (ABBA + I Am the World Trade Center + Wesley Willis) x (insert any GSL band here) One might compare Agape to Gold Standard Laboratory Records bands, and yeah, that’d be accurate, but one-man-band Ryan Powers kind of leaves ’em all in the dust if you ask me. (Ask me.)
Local Review: The Awesome Possum Band – Blendn’ In
The Awesome Possum Band Blendn’ In The Awesome Possum Band = Willie Nelson + Tenacious D + The Frogs Quirky alt-country with deep redneck roots sounds like it came straight from the heart of Alabama moonshine country. Songs are about Blue, the hound dog, corndogs, crawdads, prison and the office. Covers include the Southern-accented “Wish
Local Review: Gift Anon – Mum’s the Word
Gift Anon Mum’s the Word Gift Anon = Radiohead + Sunny Day Real Estate Scattered offbeat drumming blends perfectly with guitar strumming that gets chunky like Radiohead sometimes (“Heaven Help Us”) and jagged and slanted, like peaks on a marathon-runner’s heart monitor, at othes. Heaps of reverb helps the darkness go down smooth and sugary,
Local Review: The Invisible Rays – Self-Titled
The Invisible Rays Self-Titled Feroz Records IR = the Damned + Graves + the Corleones The Invisible Rays play often-slow, almost dirge-ish creep punk filled with plodding buzzsaw bass riffs, mournful or shouted vocals and sometimes-droning-sometimes-rocking synths. Their upbeat songs are much more tolerable than the slow ones, and I’m actually in favor of axing
Local Review: Iota – Three Tons
Iota Three Tons InSonicBloom Iota = Clutch + Fireball Ministry Iota, who, again, just to drive the point home, should be signed to Small Stone, combine the fast, catchy stoner fury of such luminaries as Fu Manchu and Clutch (“Demon Seed/Last Ride”) with slower, driving head-bobbingness that recalls Acid King (but not quite as slow).
Local Review: Medicine Circus – Bottle Rockets of Emotion
Medicine Circus Bottle Rockets of Emotion Medicine Circus = Big Star + T. Rex + Alice in Chains Medicine Circus combines the best of 90s alt-rock with some grunge, catchy, accessible hooks, some technical sweeteners and 60s psychedelia. There is something mainstream and not-mainstream about it; it echoes the better moments of Vertical Horizon and