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 Reviews: The Beginning At Last
The Beginning At Last are a quartet who combine the basic musical styles of metal and hip hop. The resulting sound on No Music No Life is pretty much what one would expect: scratching vinyl over trilling distortion and synth lead over bellowing shouts. … read more
Local Reviews: Albino Father
Earlier this year, Albino Father released Blanket, and they returned six months later with a far more mature album. The opening track’s intro sounds like it was stolen from a White Stripes album, but the vocal melodies are more reminiscent of the British Invasion. … read more
Local Review: Visions of Decay
Visions of Decay = old Norma Jean + Chariot vocals + sludge and groove … read more
Local Reviews: Summerteeth
Summerteeth’s recent release is a conglomeration of swirling hooks and high-neck diddles played through synthpop keyboard. The EP has an early ’00s indie rock influence that plays out well with its lo-fi guitars, discordant vocals and simple chord progressions. … read more
Local Reviews: Roses and Exile
Yet another project by local Christopher Alvarado (Twilight Transmissions, Little Sap Dungeon, Harsh Reality), Roses and Exile is on its way out with this bang of a final album. … read more
Local Reviews: Max Pain and the Groovies
Tortilla Gold, the latest release from the Groovies, is seven tracks of jangling, bluesy rock n’ roll. This band plays a great live show, always getting the crowd thrashing around. Fast rockers such as “Electro Cosmic Chronic Jam” and “Doin Time” capture that energy, while the slow groove of “Piano” and “Good Olds Blues” show a more melodic, tightened-up side of the band. … read more
Local Reviews: L’anarchiste
If all goes as planned, expect to hear a lot more from the fledgling band L’anarchiste. Eclectic, complex and a big bowl of folk for breakfast, L’anarchiste’s EP is a year’s worth of fine tuning by Robert LeCheminant, current member of Summerteeth and occasional contributor to Fox Van Cleef. … read more
Local Reviews: Isle of Skye
Bluesy, folksy and right at home here in Utah, the home of every variation of the jammy-jam band, Isle of Skye is making the soulful kind of music that is more personal expression and less pre-packaged and commercial. … read more
Local Reviews: Flea Circus
It’ll make you shimmy, shimmy, ya. Sample-heavy and boogie-friendly, for real, so many samples I won’t bother to get into it. Flea Circus brought the tunesmithism. The lyrics are cookie-cutter and perfect to dance to. … read more
Local Reviews: The Departure
The Departure are a brother-sister duo consisting of drummer Maci and singer/guitar player Ryan DeBlanc. Both Maci and Ryan are still in high school and their playing ability and song composition are quite advanced for their age. … read more