Local Music Singles Roundup: December 2024
Local Music Reviews
It’s the end of the year, but that doesn’t mean our local bands are slowing down at all. Below are another six incredible singles from old standbys and newcomers alike. Open your hearts and minds and you are sure to be rewarded in the kingdom of heaven.
Ambedo
“Make Me Happy”
Ambedo Productions
Street: 11.02
Ambedo = Simon & Garfunkel + Billy Corgan
Looking for the latest addition to your “Indie Main Character Energy” playlist? Well, look no further than Ambedo’s latest single, “Make Me Happy,” a jaunty little folk tune about the challenges of finding happiness in one’s life and how meaningful friendships can help provide solace in that neverending search. Singer and lyricist Brandon Aspittle nasally sings, “Well that makes me happy / What a grand idea / To wake up and know I belong somewhere.” While the song uplifts and cherishes friendship, it breaks down and lets out that little unspoken truth that one can still feel moments of unhappiness despite these strong connections that keep them afloat. The standout from the track is its killer bridge that brings the song to a gorgeously stringed crescendo. Get your friends into your old shitty convertible, drive around with top down shouting along and live out your indie buddy comedy dreams with this preciously sincere gift Ambedo has given you. –Yonni Uribe
Cali Flora.
“miserable and sweet”
Cali Flora.
Street: 11.16
Cali Flora. = (Alvvays/My Bloody Valentine) + Tennis
Lingering, melancholy and nocturnal, Cali Flora.’s “miserable and sweet” is one of those songs that sounds sad and is sad, but also has the same kind of hope in it that you find on the face of someone looking out the window in the rain. “But what does it mean if I’m still sad? / Is it just guilt or have I gone mad?” Emiko Itamura’s vocals ask emotionally-charged, vague questions about cheating or break-ups or situationships: splitting open the feelings the feeler doesn’t want others to know they have. A slow bass and consistent, boom-boom-THAP drumbeat accompany her words as she and bandmate Charlie Erekson weave their melancholy words. Listen when you feel like shit and don’t want to feel like shit or when you don’t feel like shit and want to feel like shit, or maybe just when it’s November. –Peter Eckhardt
Lapdog
“Keep Warm”
Milk Factory Records
Street: 03.02
Lapdog = The Magpipes + Briston Maroney + ½Captain and Tennille
I feel as if the psych-vigor musk of Lapdog has lingered around since my teenage years of terrorizing both Midvale and Cottonwood Heights (divorced parents coded). It seems the short compact singles of their traditional bedroom pop have only been archived since 2019, howbelt. Their latest single “Keep Warm” slightly strays away from the fungal day trip and drifts swiftly into a moody tweed strain of music. A summer camp pow wow with a roll-back-the-clock type flow at the beginning, something regarding the morning dew dreariness, indie play of early Bright Eyes. The track is bouncy in slow-motion, hazy yet perfectly clear, if that makes sense? Like a memory of forgotten youth, it’s a light note of something familiar that you can’t quite put your finger on. –Alton Barnhart
The Lingo
“Of Now”
Hoodoo Mesa Records
Street: 09.03
The Lingo’s = Washed Out + La Luz
The Lingo’s new track Of Now is an easy little ditty that’s not necessarily yacht rock, but it’s definitely a beach bar happy hour vibe with an ocean breeze. It’s not at the level of Chill-Wave, but it’s chill just the same. The track is supported by a softly creeping psychedelic instrumentation with a laid back, smooth and lazy surf guitar that wanders around aimlessly and with purpose at the same time. “close my eyes / I’m hypnotized / Just dreaming.” The lyrics just float out. Lingo’s deliver a Beach Boy, Pet Sound-era vocal arrangement that is as lush as a warm bath, or a summer rain. As I’m writing this it’s trying to snow outside. The seasons have changed to autumn, and winter is in the distant future. The Lingo’s “Of Now” track makes me feel like Summer, or vacation with half a Xanax and three margaritas swirling around in my head. Bliss. –Russ Holsten
Roo Nostalgia
“Sunsex”
Godspeed
Street: 10.01
Roo Nostalgia = LANY + a super toned down KYLE
Liberian SLC transplant Roo Nostalgia captures the early 2010s, low-key hip-hop sound with a distinct modern pop flip-up that sees him singing through the entirety of this track instead of laying down bars. This choice, though, gives “Sunsex” a breezy and casual air best for mellow nights in with friends or a more joyous version of a “Drake and Drive.” The single was the first and only released to promote Nostalgia’s now-released LP So Long, Summerhouse and fits snugly between the album’s more straightforward R&B-inspired rap performances. I was exiting middle school when a sound similar to Nostalgia’s blew up, where hip-hop artists embraced the tenderness of traditional R&B elements along with the playfulness of modern pop instrumentation. It’s safe to say that Roo Nostalgia is a wonderful addition to a local hip-hop community bursting with young talent. –wphughes
The Ten O’ One Band & Gizmo
“Sunnyday”
1001Records
Street: 06.22
The Ten O’ One Band & Gizmo = Santana + The Marshall Tucker Band
Before they got published, I saw The Ten O’ One Band play at the University of Utah on Valentine’s Day. Aesthetically, they reminded me of The Band while playing good jam-rock music by artists I like, which softened my blues. I wasn’t sure that their recorded music would capture the energy I loved about them. “Sunnyday” feels like driving with the windows down or listening to the old rambler sitting across from you. It’s a live performance with great howling from The Ten O’ One Band’s lead singer as he sinks into the background of vocalist Gizmo’s addictive babbling. Killer solos dot the single’s runtime as she sings about the Mississippi River. It feels like a stream of consciousness, like jazz without the horns. It’s blues with a smile. The Ten O’ One Band is a band that, self-reportedly, doesn’t fear death. What’s there to fear when you can liberate yourself with music? –B. Allan Johnson
Read more Local Music Singles Roundups:
Local Music Singles Roundup – November 2024
Local Music Singles Roundup – October 2024