Saturday 25 May
 
 

IndianGiver — Plafond EP

If you were to peruse the “About” section of IndianGiver’s Facebook page, you’ll notice how the instruments attributed to each of the Oklahoma City band’s five members are described with downright flippancy: Dylan Jordan plays “sticks & animal skins,” while Jazzton Rodriguez earns his keep with “shanties & loud noises,” and so on.
05/22/2013 | Comments 0

Various artists — Never Give Up: Celebrating 10 Years of The Postal Service

Few indie bands have had the impact on current music that The Postal Service has. Even fewer have done so with only one album.
05/15/2013 | Comments 0

Big Worm — Bench All-Stars

Fans of the comedy classic Friday may recognize the name Big Worm, but the Big Worm behind Bench All-Stars is rooted not in South Central L.A., but on the streets of Oklahoma City.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Code 22 — Going Soft: The Acoustic Album!

The guys of Oklahoma City’s Code 22 seem like a likable group of fellas. Their latest release, Going Soft: The Acoustic Album!, is likable enough as well — so likable that on first listen, I took its clean, acoustic sound and clear, unstressed vocals as an alternative praise-and-worship band.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Eureeka — Polysynthetic Fields

It’s always refreshing to hear music that embraces its own eccentricity, yet presents it in an accessible and meek fashion. Eureeka — the Norman-based duo of Jordan Vargas and Devin Wahl — has tapped into this rarified air on its self-released EP, Polysynthetic Fields.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0
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Gum — Make It Sound New


Matt Carney September 7th, 2011  

As far as album titles go, “Make It Sound New” is a pretty bold one. And the five guys who comprise Oklahoma City band Gum aren’t joking, either.

With guidance from Trent Bell and the equipment in his Bell Labs Recording studio, the young group’s debut (they’re all around college-aged or fresh out of school) nicely juxtaposes a certain sonic wisdom against the songwriting of messy, emotive, mid-20s lives.

Download the song "Ooo La La" for free.

The album swings with John Baber’s old-timey saloon piano melodies and alternating murky guitar tones from Joe and Levi Bello. The former Bello’s singing is warm and never strays outside his range, occasionally tinged with rage (“I Can Tell”) and longing (“Get Ready for Summer”).

“Eyes Get Low,” for instance, captures an intimate moment before expressing the narrator’s fear of losing it, then longs for the idyllic: “I would just go where I don’t know / Where everybody tells you what you wanna be told.”

It’s a wonderful surprise of a disc that recalls many of the fundamentals of a North Carolina band called The Love Language, which opened for Local Natives at ACM@UCO last year. If the guys of Gum keep writing and recording together, there’s no reason they can’t wind up in a similar boat.

Check the band out at gummusic.bandcamp.com. —Matt Carney

 
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