From the sounds of it, that’s a place where Tulsa outfit Foreign Home would like to call home. Its debut album, How Strange the Night, is big, layered, engrossing and just enough offbeat to not reside firmly in the mainstream. That can be a death trap for some bands who drown in that wall of […]
CD
Posted inMusic
Vetting process
Allen has had a long career in the music business. Before moving to Oklahoma, he worked in Nashville, Tenn., managing music royalties. In the ’90s, he played open-mic nights at local venues and coffee shops, sometimes in a band and sometimes solo. But these early experiences aren’t the only that inspire Allen today. Instead, the […]
Posted inMusic
Getting a leg up
Indie-rock trio Limber Limbs was having a bit of a Googleability problem before it switched its name from People, People. “We realized that people couldn’t find us on the Internet,” singer and guitarist Ben Bowlware said. “There’s a million results with people in it.” Added bassist Derek Moore, “It’s the comma that killed us.” “There […]
Posted inMusic
Still got it
Photo: Wesley Hamilton Next Wednesday’s show at the University of Oklahoma marks the third there for Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Based in Springfield, Mo., the indie-pop band with the exhaustively long name hopes the third time will be the charm. “The first time we played was during finals week. The next time, we […]
Posted inMusic
The Walkmen — Heaven
Aesthetically, Heaven follows in the steps of 2010’s Lisbon, although a reflective tone throughout recalls the act’s early days. While “The Love You Love” and “Nightingales” sound like echoes of “The Rat,” both level out after (relatively) wild openings, growing softer where “The Rat” grew louder. The single “Heaven” is a song to behold, reflecting […]
Posted inMusic
Tele Mori — Sounds from a Broken Music Box
Henry McMinn, one-half of that twosome, is now back as Tele Mori, and backed by a full band. Not only does that added help grant depth and a richer sound to his programmed melodies, but the resulting disc, Sounds from a Broken Music Box, is more accomplished. Whereas a good chunk of Funktion’s tracks sported […]
Posted inMusic
Colin Nance — Warmth
The aptly named “Dream Cove” launches the effort with an expertly arranged froth of synthetic washes, cavernous percussion and his wistful, measured vocals. The following “Awakening” is more playful, bouncing with Casio beeps and a more vivacious melody that soars at the chorus; had this song come out 30 years sooner, I’m certain it would […]
Posted inMusic
Affair of the hard
Photo: Chris Hultner The usual suspects of street punk brought the guys behind Violent Affair together: The Unseen, Broken Bones, Krum Bums and so on. But when it came time to record the Oklahoma City band’s latest material — the recently released, two-song EP, A Call to Arms — the five-piece sought inspiration through Nintendo. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Raid: Redemption
About to hit — and I do mean hit — Blu-ray and DVD after a limited but lauded theatrical release in April, the film carries the barest of plots. For 10 years, a much-feared mobster in a 15th-floor compound has ruled over a decrepit apartment building housing not only his narcotic enterprise, but also the dregs […]
Posted inMusic
Sample size
It’s hard to imagine that Gregg Gillis — best known as Girl Talk — spent several years playing for handfuls of people, being that he now regularly plays for 10,000 or more a night. No matter the number, he infused the same manic energy into his mad mash-ups. “I’d yell and jump on them, anything […]