Wednesday 19 Jun
 
 
CD reviews

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

SXSW: Crooks/Mother Falcon


Straight-up country and an orchestral phenomenon

By Stephen Carradini March 14th, 2012

Crooks
Credits: Stephen Carradini

Sixth Street has an absurd number of bars and venues, which is why it's become the center of SXSW. Friends, which is host to Buffalo Lounge, is in the middle of the action on Sixth. As I was walking up Sixth to Friends, a sign at The Parish caught my eye: Mother Falcon, 12:30.  As Typhoon's 13-piece orchestra was one of my favorite performances of SXSW last year, I jumped at the chance to see Austin's contribution to the indie-folk orchestra genre.

But before the set was Crooks, a straight-up country band. They had a bit of speed to their tunes, and I think that comes from their background: The stand-up bassist wore a Jawbreaker t-shirt. But these tunes weren't folk-punk or any amalgam of genres. The country songs they performed had good melodies and kept people toe-tapping.

The four-piece quickly broke down their set and allowed Mother Falcon as much time as possible to set up their 17/18-person orchestra. The sheer number of people and intensity of organization were impressive before they even played a note. But once they did start performing, they were impressive on the strength of their compositions.

Mother Falcon, with bassoon.
Credits: Stephen Carradini

I was absolutely floored by the dynamic nature of their compositions. Many bands in the quickly-growing genre of indie-orchestral use the orchestral instruments in the same way as guitars would be used; to play riffs or build textures to a giant swell. Mother Falcon has an approach much more dictated by classical composition: the strings, bassoon, trumpets and more were woven into the mix. The strengths of the instruments were played to: trumpets got the blaring intros, violins the pensive outro, and all the strings got in the action to create a rhythm by tapping strings with their bows.

Built on this foundation, the tunes exploded into joyful melodies, booming vocal bursts, and humongous swells. Seeing Mother Falcon now must be like what seeing Arcade Fire pre-Pitchfork hype must have been like: It's an absolutely flooring experience. It's sensory overload: it transports the listener. Highly, highly recommend for fans of Beirut, Arcade Fire, Typhoon or the like.
 
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
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