Each week, Salt Lake Bard posts our favorite song discoveries — both new and old — from local artists around the Intermountain West. Check out our three picks below, find past selections in our archive of past Song Picks of the Week (SPW), and stream all of our picks on the Bard Spotify playlist or watch them on the Bard Youtube playlist.
This wee we are revisiting three bands from our first ever SPW post.
1) Zober | Spirit Machines | Rock
Salt Lake City rockers, Spirit Machines have had a great reaction to their recently self-published debut album, Feel Again. Guitarist Dave Crespo says it was a mashup video that pole-vaulted the band to the precipice of success (Crespo would appreciate the sports metaphor). It started when guitarist Adam Jones, of Tool, shared the band’s video Zober—a mashup of Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir and Tool’s Sober. Suddenly things got crazy. With 700-plus CD sales in its first few months of the pandemic, it seems like something’s going on here. We featured the Spirit Machines song Piece in a July SPW. Check out Zober below, then listen to Feel Again and the band’s growing catalog on Spotify. Better yet, pull the trigger and buy Feel Again at SpiritMachinesBand.com. P.S. the band has been writing a lot so I might just expect a follow up album sooner rather than later. – Scott Cullins
2) SWIMU | Royal Bliss | Rock
To be honest, I wasn’t too familiar with Royal Bliss until after I moved to Utah. To be fair, I had been living in a remote region of the Teton Mountains for ten years, so I was a bit out of touch. When I started writing Weekly Song Picks bits for Salt Lake Bard, I had to cram a lot of music, swiftly, and I listened to a lot of Royal Bliss on Spotify. I was looking for at least one song that would seal the deal for me, because you can’t sell something unless you believe in it. Turns out I found quite a few that I believed in.
The song Paranoid was the first Bliss tune I fell for and I included it in my first song picks post six weeks ago. This week we’re featuring SWIMU (Smoking Weed In My Underwear). What I love about this song is the backstory. These guys have been playing together for many years and have grown wiser—together as friends. They may be Utah’s biggest rock band, but ultimately they long for the simple things in life—like hangin’ with their buds (pun intended). Check out the video below. Learn more about Royal Bliss at royalbliss.com, buy their CDs on amazon.com and stream them on Spotify and Apple Music. – Scott Cullins
3) Falling on the Blacktop | Jägertown | Country Rock
In week one of writing the Bard’s Song Picks of the Week, I included Jägertown, a classic song from one of the most successful Utah Country Rock bands. At the time, I felt I needed to establish a baseline for new fans like myself who might not be too familiar with some of the well-established Utah bands. Fast forward to today, where I’ve had a bit of time to reflect and let my playlists roll through my head a few times. Falling on the Blacktop struck me right away as an amazing piece that reaches across genres…kind of like how I felt when I first heard Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now. (I know…they go by Lady A now…whatever). After I started digging Falling on the Blacktop, I discovered it had hit #29 on Music Row chart. I’m learning. Congrats again to Jägertown. To learn more about the band, or to buy merch, visit jagertown.com. We also recommend you check out Jägertown’s new album Blacktop on Spotify or Apple Music. – Scott Cullins
That’s it for this weeks song picks. Check back next week for more great local music picks.
If you are an artists and would like to be featured on a future Salt Lake Bard Song Picks of the Week, please check out our submission requirements. And if you hear of anything you think we should be listening too, send it our way.
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