The Boggs- Forts

The Boggs
Forts
(05.2007, Gigantic)
7.5/10

The Boggs have come a long long way from their debut bluegrass charmer, We Are The Boggs We Are. After releasing the virtually invisible Stitches in 2003, the band spent an additional 4 years before releasing Forts. There seems to be a definite change in direction here with The Boggs' Myspace page naming Blood On The Walls, Animal Collective and Liars as musical compatriots. Where We Are The Boggs We Are harkened O Brother, Where Art Thou?; Forts is a punk pop foray similar to the Liars' debut or the criminally overlooked Je Ne Sais Quoi. The Boggs aren't the same Boggs they aren't. On Forts, The Boggs have upped their production values approximately 1,000,000 percent. The heavy-handed album opener and title track, "Forts", is a testament to their meticulous mixing for its effective kitchen sink rumble. This is possibly the most notable change in The Boggs repertoire, window shaking rhythms. The Boggs don't just ride this gimmick, however, and reducing the punk rhythms for highlight tracks like "Little Windows," "One Year On" and "The Passage". The Boggs have retained some of the inconsistencies that plagued their debut but these are fewer and farther between. Forts is a healthy improvement and exciting new direction for a band worth keeping an eye on.

-Mr. Thistle

The Boggs - "Forts"

Shows This Week!!

Good week for shows in Salt Lake. Mmm, yes, much live deliciousness mostly for free!

Thursday (7/19) at the Gallivan Center the Twilight Concert Series is presenting the best show it has booked! First and foremost for me, the SLC Arts Council has somehow reeled in the Fiery Furnaces, who’s only other scheduled live show this year is in Long Island City, New York in September. Consider yerself lucky suckas, because the Furnaces are bringing their bizarro-pop blitzkrieg specifically to you for their single summer date of 2007. Trust me when I claim that the Furnaces are a one-of-a-kind live experience. Oh, and to up the ante, it seems that they are opening for some obscure indie rock band named Yo La Tengo that a lot of "the kids" are listening to nowadays. The show is one of their random stops outside of festival shows that are scheduled through the remainder of this year as well. Oh yeah, and don’t need to whine over the price of admission because there is none.

Fiery Furnaces - Quay Cur

Yo La Tengo - Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind

Saturday (7/21) at Slowtrain the best of SLC’s best local bands will be playing all day long. It is Slowtrain’s one years old birthday extravaganza and along with raffles and prizes you have the invertible who’s who playing. Check out this schedule: Laserfang, The Lionelle, Palomino, Band of Annuals, Cub Country, Wuhu Seai, Glinting Gems, Vile Blue Shades.

Slowtrain's Myspace (with music and links to all the band's myspace pages)


Saturday (7/21) part 2 at The Depot, Built To Spill will be visiting our fair city for the umpteenth time. An essential must see band, at least once. While I have seen my fair share of extended Doug Marsch guitar solos to fulfill any personal cravings, one special draw here is their opener The Boggs who have turned their bluegrass folk into an experimental pop funk that is likely to see a positive review on these pages (who doesn’t these days…) in the near future. Recommended.

Built To Spill Myspace

The Boggs Myspace