Saturday 18 May
 
 

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

Tom Skinner — Tom Skinner

Sincerity is nearly dead in songwriting. The image of the earnest singer with eyes tightly shut and a crack in his voice as he plunges to emotional depths has become a joke.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0
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SXSW 2013: Tallows


When experimental rock’s Tallows takes the stage, don’t fret.

Stephen Carradini March 13th, 2013

Fret-tapping is an alternate way of playing guitar that creates very percussive rhythms out of melodic sounds. Instead of strumming each note, the guitar player taps a finger from the fretting hand against each note on the fretboard. The mesmerizing rapid hand movements are a neat side benefit.

tallowsTallows - Photo: Stephen Carradini

Oklahoma City band Tallows uses this technique frequently and to great effect. During the song “Small Talk” last night at The Buffalo Lounge, two guitarists and the bassist each hammered away at their fretboards. The resulting intricate indie rock was impressive in composition and performance.

Tallows’ music includes elements of charming indie pop, fast ’n’ loud indie rock and ambient electropop. They occasionally mesh these together, but more often set the sections next to each other for contrast. The band thrives off these interchanges, playing up the rhythmic and melodic differences between the sections.

Hearing the band stop on a dime and zoom off in another direction was an electrifying experience for me and the rest of the packed-house crowd. The perky, youthful tenor of the group’s lead vocalist meshes perfectly with this diverse sound, delivering sweet melodies one moment and leading hollered group vocals the next.

Their dense, rhythmic, involved sound was a ton of fun, and I look forward to hearing much more from Tallows in the near future. —Stephen Carradini



 
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