The Great American Jug Band Photo: John Thomas For calling itself The Great American Jug Band, the Norman-grown group is conspicuously light on the jug part. “We own a jug,” front man Will Gardner said. “We just don’t have anyone to blow into it.” But really, the jug always was meant to be more than […]
alternative
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Smith Westerns — Soft Will
Traditionally, bands aren’t really supposed to hit rock ’n’ roll puberty until they approach their 30s. And you’re definitely not supposed to sound as primed and polished as Smith Westerns do on Soft Will — their third studio album — when you’re barely into your 20s. Admittedly, the act’s youth and the notion of trad-rock […]
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Son also rises
Music just isn’t as political as it used to be, but don’t tell Jay Farrar. The Son Volt front man is a revivalist in many senses, writing songs from a different time and place than most other acts operating at the moment. There’s one figure, in particular, who has had a profound effect on Farrar’s […]
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Sweet slumber
Adam Miller, the brains behind the Oklahoma City-based project This Is Sleep, doesn’t just embrace the oncedormant science of computer-based production; he revels in it. “There is a magic, no doubt, that comes with bands,” Miller said. “But as technology rises, the evolution of music and new kinds of music go along with that, it’s […]
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IndianGiver — Plafond EP
Facetious it may be, but it’s far from pretentious; there isn’t a hint of self-seriousness or egotism here, and it makes for a listening experience that’s both endearing and immersive. The band’s self-released debut, Plafond EP, is an exuberantly garnished three-track release — one that showcases a diverse instrumental breadth, clever arrangements and charming “la-di-da” […]
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Tom Skinner — Tom Skinner
With this in mind, what makes Tom Skinner’s self-titled album work so beautifully is that it’s chock-full of sincerity — and real sincerity, not manufactured. Sounding like the perfect soundtrack to driving Oklahoma back roads in the summer — windows down, radio way too loud — Skinner evokes shades of alt-roots artists Tom Russell, Greg […]
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Norman Music Festival 6: Day 3
Best Time Warp: JD McPherson For about an hour, Norman wasn’t in the year 2013, but instead 1953. Broken Arrow native JD McPherson has turned the success of his debut, Signs & Signifiers, into spots on Conan and more, and Norman got a chance to see just what it is NPR and the like have […]
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On the Fritz
Songwriters draw their inspiration from a variety of things. Current events and relationships are usually high on the list, but things that make us laugh don’t typically scream, “Write a song about me.” Yet they do to Jonny Fritz, the Nashville-based singer-songwriter formerly known as Jonny Corndawg. He plays Thursday at Opolis. Fritz’s eccentric brand […]
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Who is Is/Is?
Photo: Alexander Uhrich Female-fronted shoegaze outfit armed with a punk-rock sneer and swagger? Raucous ’90s alt-rock revivalists touting surf-rock melodies? Beach House boasting an edge and a litany of distortion pedals? It’s hard to say what Is/Is is, exactly, but the Minneapolis outfit appears to be that way for a reason. “The first songs that […]
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Times bold
Photo: Doug Schwarz It doesn’t take more than a minute or so into Defining Times’ new record, Separate Tongues, to sense the intimacy, closeness and trust the Oklahoma City alternative band members must feel for one another. You’d think they’d been playing for a decade, not a year and a half. “It’s a brotherhood,” front […]