Music
▼ National Reviews
Review: Corespondents – Land of the Low People
Now I don’t want to come across as turning my nose up at this record, but Land of the Low People just goes too far. It seems to be experimental for experiment’s sake—make this Utah boy just don’t get it, but each of these 15 instrumentals has very little to latch on to. Jazz and country elements sound great when they’re played, but then they are bent into something unrecognizable (or, in most cases, enjoyable). The strange fact is that I can tell it took a lot of talent create this record, I just can’t imagine anybody electing to let this thing play for longer than 10 minutes or so. … read more
Review: Corduroi – Jangala
Listening to this album, I felt like I was high on some sort of Shangri-La vacation, with peach trees in blossom, waterfalls glistening and magical gardens to explore. … read more
Review: Cold Cave – Oceans with No End
This album is a two-song platter to showcase Wes Eisold’s electro-talents without a backing band. … read more
Review: Chris Wollard and the Ship Thieves – Canyons
Rollicking blues-thumping rock n’ roll bleeds out of these guys. Chris Wollard and the Ship Thieves are a full-throttle rock band with a full, rich sound that is as colorful and as it is raw. Wollard, who’s also in Hot Water Music, takes several steps closer to a more roots-influenced rock sound than he’s done in the past. His song writing, always at a high level, seems to have gone even higher, probably due to the fact that he’s the clearly at the helm of these Ship Thieves, and Canyons is very much his vision. … read more
Review: Carmen Villain Sleeper
Carmen Villain/Hillestad has a history as a model. It’s in every review and bio. I don’t care all that much. However, listening to Sleeper again while writing this review, I am noticing that I am not all that distracted — and at times, her music is of the kind that could easily play in the background during a photo shoot or similar activity. … read more
Review: Burnt Ones – You’ll Never Walk Alone
I pioneered a new rating system to evaluate this record: I drew plus signs next to songs I really liked, minus signs next to songs I disliked, and nothing next to songs that made me feel nothing. Despite sounding uncannily similar to their psych rock peers, the sexy, grimy reverb spiral of “Vision Forever” gets a plus sign, as does the mighty bubblegum fuzz of “Fountain of Youth” and “I Care – I Don’t Care.” The time-changing brain burner “Cloak” gets a plus sign, too. … read more
Review: Brent Amaker and the Rodeo – Year of the...
When it comes to strange and different bands, Brent Amaker and the Rodeo is at the top of my list. I feel like there’s something I just don’t get. … read more
Review: The Brains – The Monster Within
Psychobilly has an inherent problem in that the genre is a formula. Punk mixed with rockabilly decorated with horror imagery. Now by the time most bands have achieved those three elements they don’t seem to look beyond them, and that’s where the genre has become stagnant. Very few bands have been able to break the mold like The Brains. These Canadian psychos play at break neck speeds, but in some unholy way are still able to keep their songs highly melodic. … read more
Review: Bonobo – The North Borders
Strange and inconsistent effects and backbeats on this album suck you into a lucid dreamscape of seemingly impenetrable auditory hallucinations … read more
Review: The Black Angels – Indigo Meadow
I don’t really understand Salt Lake City’s love for The Black Angels. Phosphene Dream was decent at best and people here were going nuts for it. With Indigo Meadow we see The Black Angels moving away from Psych-rock and toward garage rock. … read more