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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.
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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

Angry no more, Local H's Scott Lucas stretches his humility with his married musical brethren


Chris Parker July 8th, 2010

ScottLucasMMhires_7-06x10-58cm
Scott Lucas & the Married Men with Hotel Love and Western Residents
9 p.m. Sunday
the Conservatory
8911 N. Western
www.conservatoryokc.com
607-4805
$7

Most people know Scott Lucas as the fiery, guitar-slinging belter fronting hard-rock outfit Local H, which just wrapped a tour where, each night, the duo played a different disc from its catalog in its entirety. 

A bunch of down-tempo, lovelorn folk ballads is the last thing you'd expect from Lucas, which is pretty much the impetus for Scott Lucas & the Married Men's debut album, "George Lassos the Moon."

"There are a lot of things on this record that, maybe they're not harder to do, they're just outside of my comfort zone," he said.

Lucas assembled a band from a crew of area musician friends. They rehearsed for a few months, then went into the studio to get the best take they could, imbuing the album with a vibrant, organic feel. Lucas cited Cowboy Junkies' 1988 album, "The Trinity Session," as a model.

"I've always wanted to make a record like this record where we were able to set up in a room and record everything live," he said. "A lot of the songs are a lot quieter than I'm used to. I'm singing a lot lower and quieter than I normally would, and instrumentation-wise, giving up control to the other people in the band."

The result is an effortless, charming album, in many ways similar to Local H's breakup disc, "12 Angry Months," but turned on its flipside. Rather than a bitterly personal record, the Married Men's debut is a heartfelt plea for redemption and forgiveness.

Literally.

Lucas didn't pen this album for public consumption. It was first conceived song-by-song as an appeal to his girlfriend. For more than a week, he wrote songs and e-mailed them nightly, begging for her return.

"There wasn't a lot of thought that went into it. There was a song, then the next day, there was another one, and it just kept happening. A bunch of songs that really just fell out," he said. "They just kept coming."

Before he knew it, he had 10 songs that obviously weren't Local H material. Unlike "12 Angry Months," which was framed and constructed around a concept, "George Lassos the Moon" bares Lucas' soul like nothing before. Obviously, anger and bitterness is a lot easier to showcase than shame and vulnerability.

While the band's origin was unplanned, the same doesn't hold true for its future. He and his Married Men are supporting a new EP, "Absolute Beginners," featuring the titular David Bowie cover, reworked arrangements of solo acoustic tracks from "George," and a Local H cover.

The group already has written a half-dozen tracks for its next album, and Lucas seems enthused about the new direction, although he cautioned that hardly means mothballs for Local H, which he expects to keep touring and recording, too.

And as for the girlfriend? Well, she's back in the fold, although the songs by themselves weren't enough to sway her.

"She didn't totally fall for it, which is to her credit. There's a lot of other things that had to go into play," Lucas said. "I'm not that good of a songwriter." "Chris Parker
 
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