Local Music Singles Roundup: June 2023
Local Music Reviews
Summer is finally here, and so is our June Local Music Singles Roundup! This month, we’re featuring Valet, Lane & The Chain, Snicks and more! School’s out, so it’s time to take it easy. Kick back and relax poolside with this month’s singles from incredibly talented local artists—you’ve earned it. No matter what music you’re into, these songs are sure to make a splash!
Lane And The Chain
“Love’s Not Enough”
Self-Released
Street: 04.28
Lane And The Chain = Kate Bush ÷ Ben Folds
“Love’s Not Enough” opens with a gentle guitar plucking a melody that welcomes a forlorn Courtney Lane singing, “I don’t know if you ever loved me the way that you said you did / And you never wanted to listen to me when I begged for it.” We’re in breakup territory. Soon come the drums and then the piano, the latter’s lilting softness belaying the percussion’s driving sense of newfound strength. Lane belts through the track, winding their lyrical intonation across the music’s peaks and valleys. The lyrics and music together create the sensation of watching a relationship through a passenger-seat window, as though you had found great clarity in watching landscapes whip by. We’re coming to terms with the end of a relationship and the fact that “this” hasn’t been good for a while, that just because someone says they love you doesn’t mean you feel loved. –Parker Scott Mortensen
Raffa Mafra
“A Great Place”
QSQUARED
Street: 05.26
Raffa Mafra = Afrojack + Martin Garrix
Raffa Mafra’s “A Great Place” feels like 1,000 fireflies in the air at the same time, ready to light up the summer. It’s everything, really: a crowded club banger, an afters jam and a mid-afternoon beach party burner. Raffa gives the track a crisp and clean production with steady drum beats, cool synth breezes and an incoherent voice drifting in and out that amps up the listener’s curiosity. It’s feisty, tasty and smooth like ice cream with sprinkles and honey. The track will move you and hold you still at the same time—either way, it’s impossible not to bow down to its easy charm. Listening to it feels like being in the right place with the best kind of buzz, running through your head. This summer, I want to be where this track plays, and I promise I won’t be the only one spun around by it. –Russ Holsten
Snicks
“EAZY (feat. Star Martin and PrettyboiOnDaBlock)”
Wave Runnerz/Safari Sounds
Street: 04.29
Snicks = YoungBoy + Pre-DS2 Future
True to its title, the new track from this winning trio of SLC MCs thrives on its relaxed self-satisfaction. This isn’t a hard-edged banger or a lyrical show off but a breezy, brief track defined by how easily Snicks, Star and Prettyboi can spew forth greatness. The unassuming hook delivers this motto up front before the trio engage in line-by-line hot potato, trading off witty lines throughout the track and often blurring distinction between each voice. Everything this trio has—their rhymes, their clothes, their girls and their crew—is better than yours; it’d be obnoxious if each voice wasn’t so confident, from Snicks’ low-swinging brags to Prettyboi’s nasal sneers and Star Martin’s “be with you in a minute” rasp. The beat (produced by SLC hip-hop mainstay THATBOYJIMMY) tumbles along a grainy, artifact-heavy flamenco guitar sample that furthers the track’s lackadaisical footwork. Try hards be damned; this just rolled off their shoulders. –Audrey Lockie
Snuff Tape
“Red Collar”
Self-Released
Street: 03.02
Snuff Tape = Hatebreed + Anonymous
The opening seconds of “Red Tape” sound like Snuff Tape passing around a cinderblock. A chugging, two-note figure bleeds out of the drums, then the guitar, then the bass, then the other guitar. Everyone coheres around 10 seconds in as vocalist Alec Lange descends into the mix with a guttural bark. The remaining track boasts an assemblage of every ear-crushing trope known to hardcore music—panic chords, blast beats, walloping bass pops, snare rolls and more. The quintet asserts themselves as purveyors of some of the city’s brashest and boldest hardcore with this opening statement on their debut EP, using a kitchen-sink approach to sound design to give their music propulsion beyond simple size and volume. “Red Collar” teems with life, each musical figure eschewing two-dimensionality and embracing tactility. This music slinks, groans, skitters, stomps and thuds. Grab on now so you don’t get left in the dust later. –Audrey Lockie
TAG!
“Dirt”
Self-Released
Street: 03.23
TAG! = Caspr + Point North +
a hint of EKKSTACY
Relatively new to the Utah music scene, this Provo band has made a bit of a splash with their sappy, e-boy–esque music. “Dirt” is a very pop synth–forward track, but not in an annoying, NSYNC kind of way—more of a Metro Station “Shake It” kind of way. I’ll give it a considerable danceability rating as it’s easy to move and groove to with subtle, moody lyrics. Having formed in 2021, it sounds like TAG! is still in the beginning stages of a band despite their debut EP being three years in the making; their sound isn’t as put together as someone like Kevin Walkman but has a similar style and vocal range. Still, they are good enough to be added to a playlist, which gives them a high rating in my music Pokedex. I’m excited to hear what’s upcoming in their music career, but for now, I recommend checking out this latest single from them! –Sage Holt
Valet
“95R”
Current Records
Street: 02.23
Valet = The Wallows + Vampire Weekend
Indie pop and rock band Valet’s “95R” is a dynamic track that blends catchy riffs and driving rhythm guitar with a low-key, captivating and deep voice. The song’s title references German Theologian Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, a list of reasons that challenged the authority of the Catholic Church and criticized the sale of indulgences, which promised forgiveness of sins for a price. With direct references to Luther and lyrical themes of desire, redemption and purpose, “95R” reflects on the questioning and seeking that’s central to his work. The song builds towards a cathartic release about two-and-a-half minutes in when lead singer Seth Richardson’s voice transforms into pure passion. He yells with conviction, ”In this sea are we lost / To feel good, what’s the cost? To feel good, what’s the cost?” You’re missing out on a lot if you don’t listen intently to the lyrics, but even then this song is something that would play well at a summer BBQ. –Andrew Christiansen
Read more Local Music Singles Roundups:
Local Music Singles Roundup: May 2023
Local Music Singles Roundup: April 2023