Self-Released
Local Review: Hylian – Landscapes
Listening to Hylian made me miss Myspace—not necessarily because they would have been added to my profile playlist, but because they would be all over the profiles of the scene (NOT emo) kids I was stalking, right after that “Dear Maria” song. … read more
Local Review: Villain – Self-titled
Villain are the real deal. Bridging the gap between mid-paced, ’90s-style hardcore and the modern day, Villain’s four-song debut is 100-percent all the way through. Give me an amazing four-song EP any day over 10 songs of mediocrity. … read more
Local Review: Brett Knickerbocker – Lost Signal EP
Singer/songwriter Brett Knickerbocker embodies a country-rock cowboy. Lost Signal EP is an almost all-acoustic set that sounds country-rock in its instrumentation with excited and emphatic strums. … read more
Local Review: Former Tides – What We Are EP
The post-hardcore scene has been dwindling as of late, but these guys brought some serious crashing guitar riffs to the studio just in case you forgot. The title track gets the EP started and really displays the overall sound Former Tides are going for. … read more
Local Review: Entomb the Wicked – Mortem
Vocalist/lead guitarist Tyler Bromberg has intriguingly diverse vocal abilities that come through in the slower tune, “Despondency,” which has a very Alice in Chains “Rooster” vibe to it. However, the rest of Mortem consists of faster, mosh-worthy death metal. … read more
Local Review: Militant – Father Figure
I find it funny, and maybe a little annoying, when bands get uptight about genre. To me, it feels like a non-issue that distracts from a discussion of the actual music. When I opened Bandcamp to listen to Father Figure, I noticed that Militant had tagged the album as “not metal.” … read more
Local Review: Alter Ego – Ego
Ego begins with “Hook It,” a heavy, psych bass line flooded with an opulence of funk. The moment the first wah pummeled my eardrums, I was thrashing my brain about and jerking my shoulders so hard that they were sore for two days after. … read more
Local Review: Eyes on Kites – New Lens
Eyes on Kites’ most recent release, New Lens, is able to constructively take aim at a certain nostalgia—not necessarily in sound, but in feeling—and remind us of a more innocent, purer time in our lives. … read more
Local Review: Grey Glass – Self-Titled
Straight out of Provo, Grey Glass are somewhere between pop rock and indie rock. Amid slow-tempo drumming, singing, and infrequent acceleration on tracks like “Lioness,” the “rock-band” essence is somewhat elusive. … read more
Review: The Black Ships – Dead Empires
The Black Ships = Joy Division + The Smiths + Tears for Fears … read more