dan bogosian

REVIEW: Joyce Manor – ‘Never Hungover Again’

Artist: Joyce Manor Album: Never Hungover Again Genre: Pop punk, alternative Label: Epitaph Records A lot can change in 20 minutes. Clients could fire you. You could find true love. You could lose it. People can die. 20 minutes of reading can teach you something you’ll always remember. Your first kiss, touch, and love can […]

UTG INTERVIEW: Jonathan Hischke (Dot Hacker, The Sound of Animals Fighting)

Some bands are known for one musician, and some musicians end up known for only one band. Jonathan Hischke is not one of those musicians, and his current focus, Dot Hacker, is not one of those bands. The rock group, formed by studio musicians best known as members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and […]

REVIEW: PUP – ‘PUP’

Artist: PUP Album: PUP Genres: Punk Rock, Alternative Rock Label: SideOneDummy It’s hard to contextualize a band on their debut album. A genre listing could mean so many things. What does punk mean, especially if they are going pop? Does it mean pop-punk in today’s sense of The Wonder Years and State Champs? Does it […]

REVIEW: Pile – ‘Special Snowflake / Mama’s Lipstick’ 7″

Artist: Pile Album: Special Snowflakes / Mama’s Lipstick Genre: Post-punk, rock & roll, indie rock Label: Exploding in Sound Records The burned-out psychedelic grunge of Dripping still has its edge. When it was released, Pile were a band that I had heard but never seen live – a band that had played shows with favorites […]

REVIEW: Beck – ‘Morning Phase’

Artist: Beck Album: Morning Phase Genre: Alternative rock, folk rock Label: Capitol Beck is known for asking important questions in music, presenting listeners with poignant thoughts that beg for an active listening. His early albums laced hip hop with a rock edge, until his middle period verged into noisey, experimental work; an alternative rock in […]

UTG LIST: Ten Songs To Remember Elliott Smith

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the death of famous singer/songwriter, Elliott Smith. In his short, but vastly influential career, Smith mastered the art of songwriting, creating beautiful piece after piece. In one of his most memorable candid statements, Smith claimed that he thought of songs as shapes, rather than pieces strung together. This aspect […]

REVIEW: Nine Inch Nails – ‘Hesitation Marks’

Artist: Nine Inch Nails Album: Hesitation Marks Genre: Alternative rock, industrial, electronic rock Label: Columbia Records “I am just a copy of a copy of a.” What is Trent Reznor trying to sing about? Is he talking about pop music in general? Is he talking about the evolution of sound or film or media in […]

REVIEW: Queens Of The Stone Age – ‘…Like Clockwork’

Artist: Queens of the Stone Age Album: …Like Clockwork Genre: Hard Rock, Alternative Rock Label: Matador Records I’ve gotten into arguments with other music writers about an album’s context changing a review. Usually, I’m of the argument that a band’s history shouldn’t affect a review; I like to think that a reviewer should review how […]

REVIEW: The World Is A Beautiful Place – ‘Whenever, If Ever’

Artist: The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die Album: Whenever, If Ever Genre: Emo, Post-rock Label: Topshelf Records For two months, I have been waiting to tear a record apart. I have taken extra time to do reviews because I had mixed feelings, and deeply wanted the positives […]

REVIEW: She & Him – ‘Volume 3’

Artist: She & Him Album: Volume 3 Genre: Alternative, Indie Pop Label: Merge Records She & Him belong in the 1960s. They formed as a combination of the new, 2010s indie rock scene and the 1960s music; their songs were meant for nostalgia. That’s their whole deal. This whole deal creates a problem for reviews […]

REVIEW: Tera Melos – ‘X’ed Out’

Artist: Tera Melos Album: X’ed Out Genre: Indie Pop, Math Rock Label: Sargent House I had this album for review two weeks before it came out. I listened to it probably close to twenty times in that first week of April, which was an emotionally negative time for me, and I really thought this was […]

UTG PHOTOS: FINCH 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR “WHAT IT IS TO BURN”

Our Photography Team brings you another fantastic photo set, with a special collaboration between Head of Photography, Kellie Gannon, and UTG’s newest addition, Corbin Alvae. We sent both Kellie and Corbin to the 10 Year Anniversary Show for Finch’s album What It Is To Burn on March 8, 2013 at St. Andrews in Detroit. Check […]