Music
SLUG Magazine’s collection of reviews covering the latest and greatest of Utah-based music, covering all varieties of genre, style and type.
Local Review: TelePathiQ – Dark Room EP
In just three songs, TelePathiQ packs enough intensity for a full-length album. Booming drums are silhouetted by classical riffs of piano and paired with female vocals. … read more
Local Review: Alexander Ortega – Wallwalker EP
You may have seen SLUG Magazine’s Managing Editor, Alexander Ortega, playing around town, including Friday night in-store local-band appearances at Diabolical Records and the busking area at the Craft Lake City DIY Fest. … read more
Local Review: Alumni – Decohesion
This is EP number two for these dudes of deathcore, which is always nice to see: a band with work ethic keepin’ on. They scored an impressive guest spot on “Decohesion (II)” with CJ McMahon of Thy Art Is Murder, but it’s not like their vocalists needed the help. … read more
Local Review: Andrew Maguire’s Art Project – Artsy As Fuk
“Artsy” is in the eye or—in this case—ear of the beholder. Usually, “art” in conjunction with rock music makes one think of turgid, overblown prog rock, but Andrew Maguire’s Art Project have a punkish garage band energy that’s infectious, awkward and fun—full of “art school confidential” type self-referentiality and fake gossip. … read more
Local Review: Anthony Pena – Apology
The inside cover of this album says, “With my sincerest heart, I am so sorry for who I was.” The music that follows is apologetic and cathartic, yet full of yearning. “Junius” combines upbeat vocal harmonies and emotional bursts of guitar with the lyrics “I never thought I would die right next to you.” … read more
Local Review: AudioTreats – Vol. 2
I’m stunned by the quality of music that has come out of Utah’s EDM scene as of late. AudioTreats’ Vol. 2 is no exception. This album is a hypnotic tapestry of hip-hop and electronica. Each track is incredibly fluid, and they each fit together in perfect harmony. … read more
Local Review: Braeyden Jae – Heaven House
SLC native and ambassador Braeyden Jae has created an album full of near-perfect textures. The timbre of all-encompassing waves drone, and obscured melodic passages peer out of cavernous, swelling sounds. … read more
Local Review: George Charles Nelson III – Little Engine
Sweet Salt Records was founded last fall by Tom Bennett, a transplant from North Georgia’s Piedmont region and singer/songwriter “in his own write,” to borrow a phrase from John Lennon.
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Local Review: James Junius – moth,wing,dream
A fluttery work of ambience, moth,wing,dream, evokes images of a flickering light in a cabin or a midnight walk through a cemetery. It could be a soundtrack for a horror film with its hushed chords and sci-folk vocals. “Lake Days” is composed in the style of Morrissey, with simple synth guitar and repetitive, gloomy lyricism.
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Local Review: Jay Citrus – Suck My Lemons
Jay Citrus isn’t exactly a visionary—his rhyming is sloppy, he gets his song titles from classic hip-hop tunes and, on at least one occasion, he straight-up jacks a beat without any attribution—“The Scenario” is Yeezy’s “Blood on the Leaves.”
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