Wednesday 19 Jun
 
 

Kanye West — Yeezus

Try as you might, but there’s no escaping Kanye West. Turn on the TV, radio, computer — hell, take a stroll downtown and you might see his mug projected on the side of a building. It’s an undeniable fact of life in 2013: Kanye West is bigger than Buddha, Krishna and The Beatles (today, anyway) and he’ll be the first to let you know about it.
06/18/2013 | Comments 0

John Moreland — In the Throes

With the soul of a poet and the look of a Sons of Anarchy extra, Tulsa’s John Moreland has been gifted the sort of gravely, booming voice that does Bruce Springsteen proud and a similar understanding of the universal human experience. It’s made for some fantastic records — both as a solo artist and with his dissolved Black Gold Band — and In the Throes is his best yet.
06/19/2013 | Comments 0

Jumpship Astronaut — Lights Burn Out

Oklahoma has never been the haven for electronic rock music that it is for country, folk and, as of late, psychedelic pop, but from the sound of Lights Burn Out, Oklahoma City upstart Jumpship Astronaut seems intent on changing that.
06/12/2013 | Comments 0

Various artists — Reaching Out

Like so many Oklahomans, the local music scene has responded with generosity and grace in the wake of last month’s tragedy in Moore. In the weeks since, droves of local musicians have banded together for benefit concerts and radio marathons to raise funds for the relief effort, and with extraordinary results.
06/04/2013 | Comments 0

Progress in Color — Get Well

It’s been a long, bumpy ride for Glenpool’s Progress in Color, which saw a record deal with Epic evaporate before even one record could come of it, but it’s led the outfit to where it was supposed to be.
06/04/2013 | Comments 0
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Music

Wash cycle


Sister act Bleached sounds as washed-out as a pair of vintage jeans. Good thing the girls are playing at a clothing boutique.

Matt Carney October 26th, 2011  

Bleached with Shitty/Awesome and Lizard Police
8 p.m. Thursday
Anty Shanty
318 E. Main, Norman
antyshanty.com
310-6771
$8

As Bleached, sisters Jennifer and Jessica Clavin deliver sparse, straightforward, buzz-saw rock chords and dense bass under harmonic cooing, mostly about sunny Los Angeles and its male inhabitants. And if you think they might wind up in a territory battle with soul sister Bethany Cosentino — who fronts the similar-sounding Best Coast — then you’re just dead wrong, mister.

“That wouldn’t even happen! Never ever!” Jennifer Clavin said, her sister laughing in the background. “If you and Bethany arm-wrestled, who would win? ... She says she would.”

Despite media outlets’ attempts to drum up conflict between the two indie acts, Clavin said they’re great friends. She even assisted with percussion in Best Coast’s infancy.

Previously, the sisters Clavin played together with DIY punkers Mika Miko, a band that etched its teeth razor-sharp at L.A.’s infamous downtown noise venue, The Smell.

Then Jennifer Clavin moved to New York City for a stint with the decidedly more synth-focused and melodic Cold Cave.

“After that, I realized that I wanted to make my own music, and I wanted to do it with my sister,” she said.

That music birthed Bleached, which has recorded only a handful of tunes, released on a couple of 7-inch discs. The best is “Think of You,” a fundamental example of dreamy, melodic surf rock caught in a rough undercurrent. It’s a sound that owes to the Buzzcocks about as much as it does to modern indie’s obsession with adding vocal harmonies to everything. Call it the Sriracha sauce tendency.

“We started writing songs in the summer of 2009, when we knew Mika Miko was breaking up. But we didn’t really take it seriously until this year,” Jennifer Clavin said.

The other big difference between Bleached and any of the girls’ former groups in is the primacy of sound, both recorded and live. While Mika Miko was mostly just a vehicle for wild shows (like the Minutemen, few songs last more than two minutes), their recent work has them caring much more about how they come off to the listener. Jennifer Clavin said the current tour — which stops Thursday at Norman boutique Anty Shanty — is helping to hash that out naturally.

“I’m more concerned about sounding good recorded,” she said. “And then live, we’re still trying to figure out our sound. That does make me a little bit nervous. Recording-wise, I don’t feel stressed about it.”

The goal, she said, is to sound just as rough-hewn but catchy live as they do on disc. It’s a tricky aesthetic to capture, akin to the just-right feel of well-worn jeans: It’ll come with time.

 
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