Music
▼ National Reviews
Top 5: The No-Nation Orchestra
The No-Nation Orchestra originally began as a solo project for Stephen Chai, demoing songs in his bedroom and copiously rewriting lyrics until finally (after several years) the work was ready to be introduced to friends Josh Dickson, Weston Wulle and Mike Sasich. The core members of No-Nation formed, and the four began spending time in Sasich’s recording studio polishing their own version of an afrobeat sound. The end result is The No-Nation Orchestra’s More More More EP. … read more
Top 5: Mr. Gnome
It’s hard to believe this album is the product of a duo rather than a full band, but having seen them live, I can testify that Cleveland-based singer/guitarist Nicole Barille and drummer/pianist Sam Meister are the only two musicians behind mr. Gnome—and with a box of pedals and a heap of talent, they’ve figured out how to execute their layered chaos on the road … read more
Top 5: Cold Cave
In 2003, if you would’ve told me that the singer from American Nightmare would eventually break edge, move to San Diego, do a metric ton of coke and write dance tunes for Pitchfork kids to off themselves to, I would’ve cried and then moshed you into a traffic median. No lie … but times change, edges dull and we realize that our Livejournal pages amount to little more than incoherent blathering. … read more
The Opiates- Hollywood Under The Knife & Rainy Days and...
A long time in the making, the Opiates full-length debut, Hollywood Under The Knife, was worth every single second of wait time. With a world-weary truth—the album’s mostly female protagonists emerge song by song with their faults and weaknesses laid bare for the listener. As the album works its magic and emblazons itself upon the listener’s brain, this ultra-sophisticated concept album triumphs as one of this year’s finest releases. … read more
National CD Reviews – November 2011
New and recent releases from Coliseum, David Lynch, Dum Dum Girls, Hella, John Doe, Mike Patton, Owen, Russian Circles, Skinny Puppy, This is Hell, Tori Amos, Tycho, Zola Jesus, and many more are reviewed. … read more
Carphax Files @ Metro Bar
Around 100 local members of the Salt Lake industrial scene poured into the glitzy Club Metro on Wednesday night for a free, one-hour long performance by COP International artist Carphax Files, and they were not disappointed. Carphax Files is an explosion of unholy rage at the political machine, but underpinned by a sensitivity to the plight of the people. A new Carphax Files t-shirt declares that they are the 99%. … read more
Neon Indian @ Urban Lounge
We walked in the cool evening taking sips from a vitamin water bottle filled with cheap wine. We killed the last few drops as we hit the door of the already packed Urban Lounge to catch the most talked about show of October. Everyone bouncing and smiling as we were swallowed up by the sea of people on the floor. The mass of bodies was moving to the crests and troughs of a wave of sound from some kind of future island in the sun. … read more
National CD Reviews – October 2011
New releases from Absu, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Beirut, Ceremony, Gringo Star. HTRK, Juno Reactor, Modeselektor, Night Birds, The Pine Hill Haints, Rocket From the Tombs, Sleep 8 Over, Trapped Under Ice, and many more are reviewed. … read more
Electric Six, Mark Mallman @ Urban 10.01
After the openers had been swept away and the stage hosed off, the night finally got started. A surprising number of men in their mid-to-late forties suddenly swept over to the dance floor, many wearing freshly purchased “Electric Six” t-shirts from the merch table. … read more
Low, The Moth & The Flame @ Velour 09.23
Velour was packed; I’ve only seen so many people in this venue at one of Velour’s high-energy shows. I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised at how many people were there––it was Low––but it also seemed like a lot of people were there because locals The Moth & The Flame opened the show. … read more