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:  Almost Undone – Sugar & Despair

Local Review: Almost Undone – Sugar & Despair
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Almost Undone Sugar & Despair Combining the best of Evanescence and Kittie, Almost Undone present a choppy, chunky metal cocktail that’s a little bit nü, a little bit jagged core (Crisis, Otep, Kittie). I never liked Evanescence, but Brenna White does a better job than Amy Lee or Morgan Lander combined, especially since Kittie has

Local Review: IPX – Stay Tuned …

Local Review: IPX – Stay Tuned …
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IPX Stay Tuned … Sickboy Records IPX = Taking Back Sunday + Saves the Day   IPX spin out a golden emo web that catches you in its glossy threads despite yourself. Watertight songwriting and early twenties angst juice up strong chord progressions. Pop-punk spread over emo vocals instantly makes a Popeye out of an

Local Review: I Am Electric – Thrush

Local Review: I Am Electric – Thrush
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I Am Electric Thrush Esoterik Musik I Am Electric = These Arms are Snakes + Rye Coalition   Featuring former members of Form of Rocket and Pushing up Daisies, I Am Electric is like a dance-oriented Rye Coalition. The prickly guitar parts that sashay over you in all directions, not unlike New Transit’s, backed by

Local Review: Late Night Sleep T.V. – Self-Titled

Local Review: Late Night Sleep T.V. – Self-Titled
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Late Night Sleep T.V. Self-Titled Croakfrog Records Late Night Sleep T.V. = Gary Numan + Staring at the Sea + Blondie + Rope or Bullets + Ladytron Hot Paul Michael of Downers and Corleones fame is Late Night Sleep T.V., detouring from garage towards dance in this, his solo stuff. Was 80s post-punk with gothfabulous

Local Review: My Band – Long Long Time

Local Review: My Band – Long Long Time
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My Band Long Long Time My Band = Danzig + Deep Purple + Motörhead   This is an awesome album musically; vocals sound like Jimi Hendrix + Lemmy, and the dirty guitarwork is a cross between classic rock and metal. Its major and fatal flaw is that almost every song sounds the same. I mean,

Local Review: Royal Bliss – After the Chaos II

Local Review: Royal Bliss – After the Chaos II
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Royal Bliss After the Chaos II Air Castle Records Royal Bliss = Vertical Horizon + P.O.D. For how many people can’t stand Royal Bliss, they sure show up the hatahs with After the Chaos II. Sure, Royal Bliss come from a surefire mainstream perspective, but how. This album has more catchy hooks than an 18th-century

Local Review: Sound Lab – Eat Your Pets

Local Review: Sound Lab – Eat Your Pets
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Sound Lab Eat Your Pets Sound Lab = NIN + The Bad Plus + Cat Stevens They experimental ambience was passable in the first three tracks, but really picks up in “Toy Box,” where toy percussion, discordant, creepy guitar, maggot-moulting clicking sounds and beautiful cello blend together—a perfect soundtrack to falling asleep clutching your dead mother’s

Local Review: Twilight Transmissions – Self-Titled

Local Review: Twilight Transmissions – Self-Titled
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Twilight Transmissions Self-titled Nova One Twilight Transmissions = 23 Extacy + Philip K. Dick   All-instrumental industrial annihilation brought to you by Chris Alvarado of 23 Extacy is all pleasure, no pain. Calculated repetition saturates the drone with sophistication. Everything on TT has been thought out as carefully as a Scrabble championship game, from its

Local Review: Violet Run – Trouver la Mort

Local Review: Violet Run – Trouver la Mort
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Violet Run Trouver la Mort Violet Run = The Cure + The Shroud + Love Spirals Downward   Violet Run skirts the fine line between sorrowful sincerity and fancy-pants whininess dangerously, but for the most part, are able to stick to the realm of the earnest. They’re a bit over the top, but it’s hard

Local Review: The Obliterate – The Eternal Conquest

Local Review: The Obliterate – The Eternal Conquest
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The Obliterate Plague The Eternal Conquest  Hellspawn Creations The Obliterate Plague = Dark Throne + Mayhem + Kreator + Blasphemy   The Obliterate Plague is yet another shining black creature of hate from the dark recesses of Salt Lake City’s darkest corners. This CD actually contains two separate recording sessions, one slightly rougher in sound