Issues: Issue 268 - April 2011
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
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: 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: 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: 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
Infiltrating the Mainstream: An Interview with The Black Angels
It’s a Friday night in Austin, Texas and The Black Angels are wowing a huge crowd with a reverb-heavy set at Cedar St. Courtyard during SXSW 2011. The lights are turned down to a low red glow and people dance as if they’ve been possessed by some sort of rock n’ roll demon. Lead singer Alex Maas appears to be in a meditative trance as he belts out lyrics to songs from the group’s most recent release, Phosphene Dream. … read more
Localized – April 2011
Ride your bicycle down to Urban Lounge on Friday, April 8 to see Heber City rockers Holy Water Buffalo pair up with indie-dance-pop group Shark Speed and openers Red Dog Revival. $5 gets you in. … read more
Construction to Destruction: Not for the Faint of Heart
It’s hard to believe that the eleventh installment of the SLUG Games has already come and gone. To end the series this year, SLUG Magazine brought you Construction to Destruction, a bone-crushing, face-melting jam of pure destruction housed at none other than Brighton Resort on March 5. … read more
I Want to Live at SXSW
Every March, musicians, journalists, photographers and industry types descend upon the city of Austin for nearly a week of non-stop music. When music oozes out of everywhere, it’s hard to find something that you don’t like. Mediocre performances are forgotten in the sea of awesome. … read more
Vinyl Collecting: A Beginner’s Guide
I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t surrounded by vinyl records. As soon as I had enough money to hit a proper record store, I was there, standing on a box in order to reach the back of the used record bin. Almost a quarter century later, it’s still an obsession of mine. Since record collecting is not an exact science, there are no concrete rules. But there are some things to consider before you jump into it. … read more