“I had that Columbine potential,” Oklahoma City’s KNOble Savage raps in his first verse to “Pine Box,” a track that imagines his death and takes the opportunity to reflect on his life, strife, and legacy. That track begins the first half of The Loud Terror, and it doubles as a content warning to the rest […]
Music
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Driven to direct
To the layperson, the title 328i may sound like something out of abstract science fiction, but its reference is anything but dystopian or futuristic. Instead, this time machine runs the other way. In both the literal and figurative sense, the 328i is a vehicle for nostalgia — it is a model of BMW that Ronnie […]
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Soundcheck: Endocrine Twins – K.OS / ctrl
Packed with a unique blend of niche electronic subgenres, the experimental band tops sequenced beats with alien guitars, eccentric synthesizers, and piles of effects. On the occasion that the songs do include lyrics, the words are performed with such disembodied character and are so heavily manipulated that the English language doesn’t even register at times. […]
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Soundcheck: The Bottom of the Barrel – Sober
The debut 9-track album from Oklahoma City quartet The Bottom of the Barrel is a rip-roarin’ time, and that’s no small feat for an acoustic record. Comprised of guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and upright bass, the sounds on Sober are noticeably light on percussion, with just the occasional snare, shaker, snap, or foot stomp to […]
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Smooth Local
Times are hard, and with the holidays forthcoming, they might get harder. These relaxing recordings may help. This is for You by Community Girlfriend and Lennon Bramlett (2021) Soft and experimental, This is for You combines electronics, strings, field recordings, and an ebb and flow of graceful vocals. The album drifts from moment to moment […]
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Those were the fat days
Touring for a living can be brutal. Behind the fun and obvious thrill of making music, eking out an existence on the road is a treacherous way to pay the bills. And that’s assuming you get along with your bandmates. I’ve had a behind-the-scenes look at touring life since 2005, when bands first started crashing […]
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Soundcheck: Local Man Ruins Everything – Local Man Ruins Everything
The best Local Man Ruins Everything music video is the one painted by the mind’s eye. Certainly, a talented visual artist could do wonders with the instrumental fusion band’s euphoric sounds, but that would encroach on the purity of Local Man. Even with no words, the music speaks for itself. Comprised of some of the […]
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“We did not ask for this room”
Have you ever wondered, “What if Steely Dan tried to make a My Chemical Romance album?” or, “What if Sufjan Stevens decided to really make a run for the pop charts?” or even, “What would ‘Moondance’ be like if Van Morrison made it right now and also wasn’t an insufferable anti-lockdown conspiracy nut?” Well, the […]
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Who’s on First
Thomas Who? raps better than you. Is it a bold claim? Yes, but it doubles as an even bolder dare. As a rising cornerstone of Oklahoma City hip-hop’s next decade, Thomas Who? has plenty of mindbending, dexterous verses in his catalog to substantiate his place on the leaderboard. However, when he boasts his catchphrase — […]
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Soundcheck: Jacobi Ryan – IKIA
The latest release from Lawton hip-hop entrepreneur Jacobi Ryan is the opposite of its homonym. Not to be confused with IKEA, the Swedish brand known for its fickle furnishings and labyrinthine stores, IKIA is rich with focus and merit. As the title track explains, IKIA is an acronym for “I Know I Am,” which is […]