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Ivan & Alyosha with Fort Atlantic, L’anarchiste @ Kilby Court...
Interestingly enough, Ivan & Alyosha got their name from a Dostoevsky novel, which initially made me think they were all about bleak introspection on the darkness of the human soul. On the contrary, they’re very skilled at cranking out catchy melodies with sincere vocals—not stuff I usually associate with Dostoevsky. … read more
Low @ Velour 03.30
As I found a place in the venue to nest myself before Low started, a projector broadcasted an image of a timer counting down from 10 minutes on the backdrop behind the stage. This concept doubled as a convenience for power smokers and merch collectors. As it reached the final 10 seconds, the crowd began counting down out loud until the timer reached zero. Almost instantly, the lights dimmed and Parker started to play a steady locomotive rhythm, which shoehorned into the first song of the set, “Plastic Cup.” … read more
Merchandise @ Kilby Court 04.03 with Parenthetical Girls, Wet Hair
From a wash of reverb, Merchandise’s lead guitarist Dave Vassalotti strummed the opening chords of an honest pop song called “Time.” Carson Cox’s melancholic croon shone through the band’s wall of sound, peaking at (my favorite Merchandise line), “I’m really just an animal/made with human parts.” … read more
Local Reviews: Subrosa
No Help for the Mighty Ones begins with whispers and it ends with whispers, but there’s a whole lot of darkened and beautiful noise in between. Once this album passes through one’s auditory passages and their individual psyche, they will be changed forever. … read more
Local Reviews: Ravings Of A Madman
These guys are having such a good fucking time being pissed off. In the Time it Takes to Hate is a heavy album, in content and sound. It is an exorcism of noise and emotion which can be exhilarating for both the audience and performer, but on occasion, and with sub-par execution, it can also be totally disorienting. … read more
Local Reviews: Never Say Never
Salt Lake City’s bullet-belted loudmouths claim to be the dirty rotten bastard offspring of spike-studded punk rock and rollicking thrash metal. The effort is earnest (and generally enjoyable) and their cheeky disdain of all things “PC” elicits a laugh or two (who isn’t up for the occasional dick joke?), but they don’t always straddle the line seamlessly. … read more
Local Reviews: Kiliona
In an effort to strike out on his own, Kiliona Palauni broke away from his popular and well-established group A Cassandra Utterance and immediately hit the studio in mid-2010 to craft this pop/soul tour de force. Not at all afraid to experiment, Kiliona touches base with early ‘80s synth and early ‘90s hip hop beats while guests drop rhymes. … read more
Local Reviews: Handicapitalist
Leave it to a true punk band to record a cheap EP in a small unfiltered space. The fast-paced trio threw this five-track album together in a day, all performed and recorded in the Raunch Records back room. … read more
Local Reviews: Charles Ellsworth
Charles Ellsworth is a storyteller. If his music doesn’t keep you listening (and it should), his vivid lyrics will stop your hand from skipping anything on this EP. Ellsworth’s vocals remind me of Matt Berninger, laced with the blues and 1960s country. … read more
Local Reviews: Birthquake!
Birthquake! is a local band of brothers, the Whittaker brothers to be exact, who managed to capture the bliss of life on this exuberant little slice of pure joy known as the Be Excellent To Each Other EP. This release is what smiles sound like. … read more