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UTG TRACK-BY-TRACK: The Smith Street Band – ‘Throw Me In The River’

Of recent years, Melbourne, Australia’s The Smith Street Band have evolved from beloved local act, plying their craft in dive bars around Melbourne, to full-fledged international touring folk-punk tour-de-force. One of the key components of this evolution has been vocalist and principle songwriter Will Wagner’s ability to forge a deeply emotional connection with the fan […]

UTG’s 31 Days Of Halloween: ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors’

Of all the holidays celebrated worldwide, no single day is more loved by the UTG staff than Halloween. With the arrival of the year’s best month, the time has finally come to begin rolling out a plethora of features and special announcements we have prepared in celebration of our favorite day, including the one you’re […]

UTG’s 31 Days Of Halloween: ‘Street Trash’

Of all the holidays celebrated worldwide, no single day is more loved by the UTG staff than Halloween. With the arrival of the year’s best month, the time has finally come to begin rolling out a plethora of features and special announcements we have prepared in celebration of our favorite day, including the one you’re […]

UTG’s 31 Days Of Halloween: ‘Videodrome’

Of all the holidays celebrated worldwide, no single day is more loved by the UTG staff than Halloween. With the arrival of the year’s best month, the time has finally come to begin rolling out a plethora of features and special announcements we have prepared in celebration of our favorite day, including the one you’re […]

UTG Premiere: Vanities – ‘Dead Beats’ EP

Just a year after bursting onto the hardcore scene with their incredible debut, New England’s Vanities are back with a killer new record that might be your favorite heavy release of the fall. The world of heavy music has become incredibly underwhelming in recent years, at least on the side of things that caters to […]

Stream Weird Al’s New Album, ‘Mandatory Fun,’ In Full

I don’t know about you, but I have spent the last couple of days anxiously waiting to see what top 40 song Weird Al parodied next. “Tacky” reminded us why he has stayed relevant all these years, but it wasn’t until “Word Crimes” that I felt confident in saying Al is delivering some of the […]

UTG INTERVIEW: Pitchfork Music Festival Bands on Their Favorite Chicago Hangouts

We’re a little more than excited for Pitchfork Music Festival to arrive this year considering it has an awesome record fair (Chirp!), top notch food vendors (Rice Table! Puffs of Doom!), and a beautifully stacked lineup (Slowdive! Beck! Neutral Milk Hotel!). The festival will take place over at Union Park on July 18-20 for three days of great music […]

REVIEW: The Antlers – ‘Familiars’

Artist: The Antlers Album: Familiars Genre: Ambient Rock Label: Anti- When a band takes its name from a Microphones song, it’s fair game to expect hopeless toiling in love metaphors, jumpy explorative arrangements, and, above all, musical cataracts in the form of depression. Phil Elverum’s “Antlers,” a lo-fi folk recording that fades out with a […]

REVIEW: Sharon Van Etten – ‘Are We There’

Artist: Sharon Van Etten Album: Are We There Genre: Folk Rock Label: Jagjaguwar Sharon Van Etten is a rarity among musicians. The New Jersey native will step onstage and squabble with her three-piece backing band, combining nervous jokes with a half-snort laugh that would probably get a kid bullied in middle school. She’s a bit […]

UTG LIST: The Essential Anti-Love Songs For Valentine’s Day

I have a friend; she loves Valentine’s Day. At the beginning of each year, she spends her days playfully trying to pinpoint just how her stupendously awesome boyfriend will woo her come February 14. She fawns over flowers, swoons over candy, and gets off on public, often cheesy displays of affection. She spends hours in […]

UTG LIST: The Essential Love Songs For Valentine’s Day

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, and on top of all that, it is about as ambiguous as a feeling can get. Since the dawn of time, droves of individuals have tried to put this warm fuzzy feeling into words, and despite varying results, it would seem […]

UTG INTERVIEW: Vista Chino – Kyuss Lives! is Dead, Long Live Kyuss!

Rising from the ashes of the sadly burnt-out but much beloved desert-rock icons Kyuss, Vista Chino have been touring the world for the best part of the last three years, bringing the music and the vision of Kyuss screaming back to life in all of its distorted glory. Originally formed under the name Kyuss Lives! […]