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: False Witness – Ascent To Chaos

Local Review: False Witness – Ascent To Chaos
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False Witness Ascent To Chaos Self-Released Street: 03.28 False Witness = Avenged Sevenfold + Mudvayne + Sepultura Upon first listen to False Witness and their album Ascent To Chaos, I felt that I was handed another generic melodic metalcore release within the “paint by numbers” realm. After the fourth listen, I realized that I was

Local Review: Cult Leader – Useless Animal EP

Local Review: Cult Leader – Useless Animal EP
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Cult Leader Useless Animal EP Deathwish Inc Street: 06.16 Cult Leader = Converge + Coalesce On the heels of the acclaimed debut Nothing For Us Here comes this tiny but crushing EP to grind the lesser music out of your ears. Both “Useless Animal” and “Gutter Gods” are short tracks, like brutal slashes with rusty

Local Review: Crook & The Bluff – Down To The Styx

Local Review: Crook & The Bluff – Down To The...
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Crook & the Bluff Down to the Styx Self-Released Street: 01.13 Crook & the Bluff = Those Poor Bastards + Lydia Lunch & Cypress Grove Down to the Styx is a rise and fall of a drawn-out song—eroded down to the twang of the guitar and redolent of all psychedelic hearts longing for the Southwestern desert.

Local Review: Artificial Flower Company – Creamium

Local Review: Artificial Flower Company – Creamium
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Artificial Flower Company Creamium Self-Released Street: 03.16 The Artificial Flower Company = 90s Television + Delicate Steve TAFC are an experimental project out of Provo who give old and new pop influences unexpected flavors within a low-budget recording style. For me, most lo-fi music sounds endear- ing. However, TAFC have a certain cabaret panache in this

Local Review: 90s Television – Bad 4 the Tooth

Local Review: 90s Television – Bad 4 the Tooth
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90s Television Bad 4 the Tooth Self-Released Street: 12.12.14 90s Television = Animal Collective + Devendra Banhart + The Strokes Bad 4 the Tooth is a seven-track collection of burned-out, sleepy tunes that sway nicely across bizarre landscapes. With a name like 90s Television, I’ll admit that I had nostalgically charged expectations. However, their style

Local Review: 100 Mile House – Self-Titled

Local Review: 100 Mile House – Self-Titled
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100 Mile House Self-Titled Self-Released Street: 03.06 100 Mile House = American Football + Minus the Bear On my first listen through this EP, I thought, “I bet these guys like Ameri- can Football and Minus the Bear.” Then I went to their Facebook page and saw that under “influences,” they list those two bands …

Local Review: Black Jupiter – Salvation in a Self-Destructive World EP

Local Review: Black Jupiter – Salvation in a Self-Destructive World...
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Black Jupiter Salvation in a Self-Destructive World EP Self-Released Street: 01.16 Black Jupiter = A Perfect Circle + Radiohead + Pink Floyd It was so wonderful to listen to such a calm and gripping strut through the melodic wanderings of Black Jupiter’s EP, Salvation in a Self-Destructive World. The heavily instrumental album takes me back to nights

Local Review: Batty Blue – Ekphrasis

Local Review: Batty Blue – Ekphrasis
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Batty Blue Ekphrasis Self-Released Street: 01.17 Batty Blue = Amelie soundtrack + Laura Marling There’s an oversaturation of folk bands in Provo, but this album is charming and off-beat enough from the typically clean-cut music of Happy Valley to stand alone. It rubs into you nicely— like a good sweater from the D.I. Soft accordion is