Transient, the Norman noise outfit’s second LP (if you can call it that) marks a departure from the sprawling psychedelic anthems of its self-titled debut. At eight songs, this mini-album effort clocks in at less than 14 minutes, with each track less than two minutes. The band — front man Chris Harris, guitarist Derek Lemke […]
CD
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Out with a Bang
Photo: Doug Schwarz Oklahoma City punk-rock outfit The Boom Bang is headed to the big glass house in the sky, exiting this world in a blaze of smoke bombs, cheap beer, broken glass and partial male nudity. Pizza cookers, firework vendors and local music fans alike mourn the loss of one of the greatest live […]
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Street cred
In grade school, a lot of us were too busy playing Nintendo and sipping Capri Sun to even think about attempting anything artistic. But not Jabee Williams, aka Oklahoma City rapper Jabee. “I wrote my first rap when I was 7. That’s when I started,” Jabee said. “It just went on from there. I went […]
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Jump street
Photo: Clayton Elder Electronic bands face an uphill climb in the Sooner State, which boasts a proud musical heritage long defined by the obvious (country), the unassuming (folk rock) and, more recently, the brash (garage and punk). Oklahomans like their guitars — for good reason — and the instrument’s reign atop the state is unlikely […]
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Webb fluid
Few songwriters have reached the stratospheric heights as that of Jimmy Webb. By age 16, he was working for Motown Records. At age 20, he wrote “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” which later was a smash for Glen Campbell and would become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century. With […]
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SXSW 2013: Horse Thief / Colourmusic
But neither string of terms does justice to the Horse Thief sound, which is the sort that takes command of a room. A SXSW volunteer standing next to me leaned over halfway through Horse Thief’s set and informed me of how amazing the band was — even though we had not said a word to […]
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SXSW 2013: Tallows
Oklahoma City band Tallows uses this technique frequently and to great effect. During the song “Small Talk” last night at The Buffalo Lounge, two guitarists and the bassist each hammered away at their fretboards. The resulting intricate indie rock was impressive in composition and performance. Tallows’ music includes elements of charming indie pop, fast ’n’ […]
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Tracks of my ears
Sleek and stylish electro duo The Deer Tracks is about as overtly Swedish as a certain chef from The Muppets, which means the blood coursing through the two members’ veins all but guarantees they construct ridiculously infectious pop music far more sturdy than an IKEA shelving unit. In fact, they do. The two — singer/chanteuse […]
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Johnny Polygon — The Nothing
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:1″><span style=" Times New Roman” ,”serif”;mso-fareast-times=”” new=”” roman”;=”” mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-fareast-language:es-bo”=””> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal”> The Nothing is a smart, subtle and cohesive album that suits Polygon’s always formidable flow. He clearly has bought into the Clams Casino mode of hazy hip-hop production, and it’s a smart choice; his voice has always moved like […]
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Mac ’n’ cheese
Photo: Brad Elterman Things can move pretty fast — faster than you want, sometimes. Just 22, Canadian garage rocker Mac DeMarco recorded his 2012 debut EP, Rock and Roll Nightclub, as a personal, private experiment of Ramones-influenced power pop slowed to a creep, and brandished the cover with a lipstick-smearing selfie. An unexpected hit, it […]