Monday 20 May
 
 

God bless metal

Becoming the Archetype with Bermuda, The Burial, Horror Cosmic and Veil of Suffering
6 p.m. Saturday
The Conservatory
8911 N. Western
conservatoryokc.com
607-4805
$12-$14
05/15/2013 | Comments 0

Here for the party

Gretchen Wilson with Outlaw Son
6 p.m. Thursday
Newcastle Casino
2457 U.S. 62, Newcastle
mynewcastlecasino.com
387-6013
free
05/15/2013 | Comments 0

Bright stripes

Tiger High with Cosmonauts and The Garden
10 p.m. Monday
Kamps 1310 Lounge
1310 N.W. 25th
kamps1310lounge.com
819-6004
$5
05/15/2013 | Comments 0

Reverb brotherhood

Basile Benefit Bash with The True Believers, The Fortune Tellers, The Reverb Brothers, DJ Jon Mooneyham and more
9 p.m. Friday-Saturday
VZD’s Restaurant & Club
4200 N. Western
vzds.com
524-4203
$20 Friday, $10 Saturday
05/15/2013 | Comments 0

Back to basics

O Fidelis with Chelsey Cope
9 p.m. Thursday
Wormy Dog Saloon
311 E. Sheridan
wormydog.com
601-6276
free
05/08/2013 | Comments 0
Home · Articles · CDs · Indie · Ryan Parker — In Circles
Indie

Ryan Parker — In Circles


Matt Carney December 7th, 2011  

About two-thirds of the way through “What Is Light,” the eighth track on Oklahoma City singer/songwriter Ryan Parker’s “In Circles,” a melodic, piano-driven, chorus-less series of verses gives way into a worldbeat rhythm that evokes a living-room drum circle. This is the part where he asks about the light.

Parker asks a lot of questions here in his debut, but judging by the crisp vocal harmonies (supplied by Brianna Gaither, Ali McIlroy and Amy Leming), chiming acoustic guitar chords and peppy percussion, he’s optimistic about the answers. “Just Because,” the disc’s shining love song, stands out in this regard. The jug-band bassline and handclaps makes it sound like it was recorded in a meadow on a springtime afternoon.

“True Be True” is another track to which I found myself returning. Those currently crushing on Idaho buzz band Youth Lagoon’s triumphant, drum-machine-assisted, squiggle-guitar jams immediately will recognize a striking, enjoyable similarity. The difference is in the careful vocal arrangement Parker’s given this one.

Per the title, a lot of his lyrics runs around in circles — they’re more existential bouts of wondering than stories — but they’re certainly very pretty, diverse circles, richly recorded with a nice, subtle echo coming off his voice when the arrangement goes sparse.

You can catch him live at 10 p.m. Friday at VZD’s Restaurant & Club, 4200 N. Western. —Matt Carney

 
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