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: Mooninite/RS2090
Side A, Mooninite’s side, treads lightly in familiar ambient territory, owing much to the sampled instrumentation of Boards of Canada and the swirling arpeggios fancied by fellow compatriot OK Ikumi. The beats are slightly off, staggering with a seasick lurch. RS2090’s side is all absurdist rhythm patterns, pitch-shifted lecture notes, squiggly synths, bottom-scraping low-end and an angular, almost geometric approach to composition. … read more
Local Review: A Lily Gray
A Lily Gray has released a solid and highly enjoyable EP with The Fall. The album is ethereal and emotive, a bit more complex than most standard rock, but not quite stepping into any “progressive” territory, and has a strong foundation in the complementary sound of the music with singer David Lynn’s unique and far-reaching, clean vocals. … read more
Local Review: KonSICKwence & Skip Sanders
Utah hip hop just keeps getting better. I mean it. I know many of these kids have been around for a minute, but they’re hitting their strides. Utah. Jazz. is just that—full of dusky, distant piano samples over bass-heavy boom bap. … read more
Local Review: it foot, it ears
Cannonball Lessons is the second release from Salt Lake avant-garde duo, it foot, it ears. This five-song EP adds to the band’s catalogue a handful of stripped-down musical miniatures, which are at once endearing and exasperating. … read more
Local Review: Harmon’s Heart
Harmon’s Heart album is worth a listen for anyone who pays attention to Exigent or is willing to unplug from the local hardcore scene for a few songs. … read more
Local Review: Hang Time
This album is defined by its lush instrumentation, dripping with cosmic flair. The guitar rhythms are jangly with just enough feedback, and occasionally angular enough to border math rock. … read more
Local Review: Color Animal
After covering Color Animal for July’s edition of Localized, at which point in time they had not recorded anything yet, I was eager to hear their debut album. Despite having to wait a few extra months, this seven-song mini-LP with a great blend of psychedelic and garage/surf rock was worth it. … read more
Local Review: Caladan Brood
Evoking a bitter age of strife in a war-torn fantasy realm, Echoes of Battle shows an impressive amount of maturity for a debut release. With a tasteful mix of thoughtful orchestral arrangements and dynamic black metal sorcery, members Mortal Sword and Shield Anvil pay lyrical and musical tribute to Steven Erikson’s dark fantasy series, The Malazan Book of the Fallen. … read more
Local Review: Ben Best & Karl Jørgensen
Ben Best & Karl Jørgensen are a local experimental duo with an appreciation for analog recording techniques, having recently released a nicely packaged cassette of their self-titled album. This volume of music contains a sonically warm series of untitled audio explorations that are almost aquatic in tone. … read more
Local Review: The Arcadians
The Arcadians has a pretty sound overall, with a lot of the focus on the vocals, but there is not a lot of substance to latch on to. My biggest complaint about this debut album from this Provo group is that it lacks originality. … read more