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: Fisch Loops

Local Reviews: Fisch Loops
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This funky little EP was pieced together entirely out of samples taken from that educational show from the ‘70s, “The Electric Company.” The unlikely source material yields some downright classic-sounding grooves, bringing to mind Lifesavas’ Gutterfly or some Curtis Mayfield in its homage to the decade of funk with a capital “F.”  … read more

Local Reviews: Dusk One

Local Reviews: Dusk One
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Produced by Fisch Loops, this half pack is a testament to the creativity and reach of Dusk One. Made from sounds of the Brady Bunch, these often mellow, feel good beats are teamed up nicely with the lyrical lambasting from Dusk One.  … read more

Local Reviews: Discourse

Local Reviews: Discourse

Rich and elegant, this album really does go down just like a mug of delicious hot chocolate. The music is beautiful, the instrumentals are neat and specific and the production is excellent. Joining the likes of John Mayer with seductive vocalizations, the whole album was a straight through easy-listen.  … read more

Local Reviews: Burning Olympus

Local Reviews: Burning Olympus
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With hazy guitar sounds and strong percussion, Burning Olympus encompasses the energy of White Rabbits and the low grit of The Black Keys in their first full-length album, Going Nowhere.  … read more

Local Reviews: Subrosa

Local Reviews: Subrosa
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No Help for the Mighty Ones begins with whispers and it ends with whispers, but there’s a whole lot of darkened and beautiful noise in between. Once this album passes through one’s auditory passages and their individual psyche, they will be changed forever.  … read more

Local Reviews: Ravings Of A Madman

Local Reviews: Ravings Of A Madman
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These guys are having such a good fucking time being pissed off. In the Time it Takes to Hate is a heavy album, in content and sound. It is an exorcism of noise and emotion which can be exhilarating for both the audience and performer, but on occasion, and with sub-par execution, it can also be totally disorienting.  … read more

Local Reviews: Never Say Never

Local Reviews: Never Say Never
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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

Local Reviews: Kiliona

Local Reviews: Kiliona
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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: Handicapitalist

Local Reviews: Handicapitalist
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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: Charles Ellsworth

Local Reviews: Charles Ellsworth
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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