Buzz Blog

Today, we look over more local releases from the past few months, plus two on the way and one with a release show. --- We'll start with the latest from Speitre! Just so there's no confusion, according to their own Facebook page, it's pronounced "Spider." The five-piece metal band have been around in full force since about 2006, staking their claim to performing traditional metal with a flare for the "elder metal god" dramatics. The group have had demos here and there, but nothing really official until this past June with the release of their EP Castlemaster! I'd show you artwork, but the group has only released bits and pieces for the masses, forcing you to come in person to get your copies. Hit them up at their next show.

Since we're on metal, let's talk about Gunner, a brand-new, five-piece group out of SLC who started earlier this year, playing hardcore rock in a style that they call "doom punk." Unrelenting drums and guitars, high vocals and quick-fire sets have made the band a must see, and one of the word-of-mouth highlights from the Kilby Court show Crucial Fest. In April, the band put out a three-song demo entitled Catalogue Your Faux Success, but no word yet on a proper EP or full-length album has surfaced as they've mainly been playing shows around the state. You can grab the demo for $5 on their Bandcamp page or in person.

Next up, we switch over to hip-hop and check out the latest from Definit & Young Sim. Growing up in Utah County, Definit (Sean Currin) started making music in high school, hit a rough spot with drugs, got clean, and jumped back into the game in 2004 making beats and soundtracks. In 2007, he met up with Young Sim from Philadelphia during a conference in Las Vegas and the two have collaborated ever since. Young Sim (who, short of actually moving here, has practically relocated to Utah) released his debut album Audio Diary back in July, with several artists from Feel Good Music Coalition making guest spots -- pretty good album that's worth at least checking out.

On to more recent releases, the long-awaited full-length album from Desert Noises is here! ... kinda. Ever since the alt-indie trio (seen above) released their self-titled EP with the song "New Man" getting radio play in Utah, the demand for a follow-up was almost immediate. The album has been over a year in the works with much hype behind it, and early tracks from the now officially titled Mountain Sea show a lot of progress and promise for the future. The only downside to all this is the group have had to cancel shows in recent weeks -- including their scheduled album-release show that was to happen at Velour this week -- due to arising situations and emergencies. But no worries about buying the album, you can do that right now at Slowtrain, where they're selling a dual vinyl/CD release for just $20. Go grab yours today!

Which brings us to the only official release show of the week, that being the latest release from The Plastic Furs. As you can see, some schmuck (er, me) already wrote about the group in this week's issue, so there's not a lot I can add to this. All I can really say is that Does It Explode was a damned fine album to listen to these past few weeks; it is a must buy for anyone into psychedelic and/or garage rock. You can catch the release show tomorrow night at The Garage along with Night Sweats and Pretty Worms. Pretty Worms, incidentally, will be doing their own low-key release of three 7" vinyl splits, one containing two of their own songs and the other two sharing time with Plastic Furs and a new track from Blackhole. $5 starting at 9 p.m.

Head out, love music, buy local!