SLUG Magazine’s collection of reviews covering the latest and greatest of Utah-based music, covering all varieties of genre, style and type.

Local Reviews: Mana Poly All-Stars

Local Reviews: Mana Poly All-Stars
By

Mana Poly All-Stars are some cool, smooth cats. I can’t believe how pimp this reggae is. If I smoked tweeds, I would totally want to roll a big ol’ thang and chill out to the calming relaxed vibes of these eight fine musicians.  … read more

Local Reviews: Lexi Sayok

Local Reviews: Lexi Sayok
By

This music is engineered to hit right on the money for all people born in the 90s. The fact that the songs longer than three minutes were shoved to the end of the album makes me think that the average Lexi Sayok fan has a gnat’s attention span (what’s new with music written for those under 21 these days though?).  … read more

Local Reviews: Gorlock

Local Reviews: Gorlock
By

Gorlock’s debut EP consists of six songs and unfortunately only lasts 16 and a half minutes. Luckily, those minutes seem like hours. This is a trip into a psychotic wonderland of demons and pure abstruseness. There are elements of basically every extreme metal sub-genre within, but the end result could only be defined as experimental. … read more

Local Reviews: Codi Jordan

Local Reviews: Codi Jordan
By

Codi Jordan knows how to drop some flow. On Vacation, he lets it all loose with his amazing lyrical abilities. It’s fascinating how a kid from Eden, Utah can have such a rich, amazing perspective on life and such a fantastic interpretation of rap reggae. … read more

Local Reviews: Chelsea Grin

Local Reviews: Chelsea Grin
By

Chelsea Grin, like most of their deathcore contemporaries, employ super low guitar tunings, plenty of breakdowns and brutal lyrics that put Hostel or Saw to shame. The handful of tracks on their self-titled EP display walls of chunky guitars that, while slightly monotonous with heaving dissonance, sound pristine.  … read more

Local Reviews: Adam and Darcie

Local Reviews: Adam and Darcie
By

Adam and Darcie Sanders are a serenading couple from Provo. In their beautifully simple (but not without accoutrement) Valley CD, the indie acoustic duo’s voices melt over one another in smooth layers superimposed upon acoustic guitars and banjos.  … read more

Local Reviews: X96 Live & Local

Local Reviews: X96 Live & Local
By

The fifth installment of X96’s live local features 18 tracks forms Utah’s finest bands. The bands featured are the ones that you would expect to be on here – Tolchok Trio, Starmy, Purr Bats and many other scenester bands that all of SLC seems to be obsessed with.  … read more

Local Reviews: Vicious Starfish

Local Reviews: Vicious Starfish
By

Vicious Starfish are a peculiar band. Their tracks vary from campy light hearted upbeat stuff to somber, piano-driven songs to electronic pop songs. It’s hard to pin them down. While I like the variety, it seems like the band is a bit scattered.  … read more

Local Reviews: The Tenants of Balthazar’s Castle

Local Reviews: The Tenants of Balthazar’s Castle
By

An ongoing and ever-changing experiment, TTOBC’s third full-length can be described as nothing other than an astoundingly beautiful and ambient stroke of genius. Even with so many established artists in the genre of noise, never has the spirit of imagination been captured like this.  … read more

Local Reviews: Shaky Trade

Local Reviews: Shaky Trade
By

I don’t know about you, but when I think about Ogden, the first thing that comes to mind is funk. Well, maybe the first thing that comes to mind is poverty, then drug use, then crime, then funk, but I’m sure they’re all related somehow.  … read more