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: Thunderfist
Since visiting my 8th-grade Career Day class 10 years ago, singer Jeremy Cardenas scream-sings just as viciously as in those initial Thunderfist recordings. But now, I’m more afraid he’ll beat me with an ugly stick, shrieking, “I’m all fucked up tonight!” in “Hit the Bottle Again.” With the addition of the prodigious Matt Miller, Thunderfist’s guitar dynamics are fleshed out in a kaleidoscopic way, balanced so that each guitar complements each other just enough, such as in the riffy “Back Down.” … read more
Local Reviews: Samuel Smith Band
You swore you would never listen to KBER. Samuel Smith Band, Salt Lake Soundcheck favorites, will make you repent your superiority. Recall, if you possibly can, some shit-forsaken rock quartet from the ’70s, with a white soul singer, bottle-neck guitars and Fender Champs cranked up to blues kazoo. Samuel Smith Band delivers these basic goods, combined with enough wit and funk to retain a sure sense of the here and now. … read more
Local Reviews: The Mighty Sequoyah
While folk may not be my personal favorite of the genres, The Mighty Sequoyah have managed to produce a solid and pleasant-sounding album. In Sunken Houses, the sounds have been well produced under drummer Bret Meisenbach’s label, Black Pyramid Recording. … read more
Local Reviews: Melody & Tyler
I woke up with lyrics stuck in my head a couple of times after listening to this album––the songs are catchy, well put together, and totally genre-appropriate. Singer/songwriter Melody Pulsipher has a beautiful voice, and, better still, is willing to experiment with it, ranging from soft and moody to twangy and countrified. … read more
Local Reviews: Jay William Henderson
The Sun Will Burn Our Eyes EP is the first solo release from Band of Annuals’ lead singer, Jay William Henderson. Instrumentally, Henderson favors the acoustic guitar backed by tremolo keys or electric guitar, slide guitar and the earnest whines of the steel pedal. … read more
Local Reviews: I Am The Ocean
Post-hardcore outfit I Am The Ocean have delivered a standout and unique EP with Overhead. Their sound is complex and innovative––and hard to pin down and describe. It’s more creative and far-reaching than other contemporary acts, and while it doesn’t hit the crazy, time-changing speeds of some prog metal acts, it carries the same artistic banner of natural experimentation and removal of genre boundaries to build a solid song. … read more
Local Reviews: Giraffula
Loop pedals and one-man bands are becoming more and more common these days. Though this fosters creativity by allowing any single person to experiment with a sound that was previously only attainable with a full band, it has brought with it the unavoidable, long and repetitive loops. … read more
Local Reviews: Funnel Vision
Here’s a fun little sack o’ goodies for ya: two CD-Rs, a cassette, a sticker and a mini-zine that chronicle the weird exodus of band members Stan and Karrie Boman as they fled cross-country following the massive tornado that wiped out their home in Joplin, Miss. in May of 2011. … read more
Local Reviews: Folk Hogan
It’s too easy to say Folk Hogan sound like Flogging Molly—they deserve more than that. Pub-belting tunes about whiskey, women and mythical men, Folk Hogan should be blasted at volume 11 by every cabby-hatted booze enthusiast in Utah. … read more
Local Reviews: Bullets & Belles
I have to say that this might be the best production of anything local I’ve ever heard, which would stand to reason, since while Bullets & Belles only formed last year, the members are all veteran musicians. This three-song EP is some damn catchy jazz pop, with stunning vocals, thoughtful lyrics and brilliant songwriting. … read more