Millsap uses that narrative but flips the script heading into his self-titled follow-up; while most sophomore records are stiffened-up and self-serious compared to their predecessors, Millsap untucks his shirt, kicks up his heels and celebrates a job well done with this relaxed but purposeful collection of songs. He shuffles poignant balladry (“The Villain,” “Forgive Me”) […]
album”
Posted inMusic
Gutter punks
Any self-respecting alt-teen in the early ’90s fell into one of two camps: the punks or the poseurs. The punks were, of course, the true rebels of the courtyard, dressed in torn denim vests adorned with homemade patches, trading bootleg tapes of Propaghandi, Anti-Flag and Guttermouth, ever so secure that punk would never die, man. […]
Posted inMusic
PLSTKNOVA — Lights
His second EP, Lights, is an entrancing odyssey through the sleep cycle, pouring an ethereal dream-pop fog over mind-bending down-tempo bass grooves. Taking cues from Tycho, Baths and Four Tet, the seven-track effort focuses on aural world-building delicately built brick by brick. The adventurous but contained record is melodic and gripping all the same, its […]
Posted inMusic
Wise guy
Photo: Samantha Lamb For all the talk of Oklahoma singer-songwriter Parker Millsap and his Pentecostal roots, there’s a point that gets glossed over along the way. People note that gruff howl of a voice rumbling out of his gut with a tent-revival vigor equal parts fire-and-brimstone and piss-and-vinegar. Millsap himself nods to those Sunday morning […]
Posted inMusic
Graham Colton — Lonely Ones
Lonely Ones doesn’t feel like a manufactured change, though, and Colton’s wise choice in marrying his intrinsic tendency toward soaring, ear-friendly melodies with some quirkier sonic sensibilities — owed to a push from friend Wayne Coyne — is nothing if not natural. This sounds like where Graham was meant to be all along. The opening […]
Posted inMusic
Hello, neighbor
Photo: Randi Radcliff Pop-rock juggernaut 3 Doors Down is coming to Oklahoma with an acoustic interpretation of its live show. The band will be playing a variety of its catalog ranging from its numerous No. 1 hits to some songs never played on stage until this tour. Feb. 1, the group will bring its Songs […]
Posted inMusic
Vangough — Between the Madness
At 12 songs, most clocking in at six minutes or longer, moments of Oklahoma City trio Vangough’s third full-length album are overlong, overwrought and occasionally disjointed from start to end. That said, the pair of cojones Vangough shows through tackling this big, theatrical album worthy of Spinal Tap is praiseworthy in its own right, and […]
Posted inMusic
The ‘Hurt’ rapper
Flash back to one year ago, and Jabee — arguably Oklahoma City’s biggest hip-hop artist — was on the verge of calling it a wrap. The perpetually positive emcee found himself forcing smiles. Discouraged by a dip in local support and a Kickstarter campaign that had fallen considerably short of its goal, that fandom was […]
Posted inMusic
Willis — The Understanding
From the opening R&B samples and powerful horn section that triumphantly blasts the arrival of a new hero on the scene, Willis’ The Understanding perfectly captures the inner-city swagger of a blaxploitation movie icon. Strutting through these dirty streets like he is God almighty, Willis unashamedly kicks the doors in and sits at the head of […]
Posted inMusic
Honeylark — Heavy
The Americana outfit, led by Natalie Moore Houck and Ryan Houck, captures that unique Oklahoma Red Dirt sound, but in this case, the red is ominously stained crimson and the dirt is ready to be thrown on top of a coffin. This is the soundtrack of Okie-noir pulps and backwoods eulogies, left-for-dead lovers and dying […]