“How Dark It Is Before The Dawn” by Starlings, TN is easily the most crushingly sad album I’ve heard this year. It’s also on the shortlist for “Most Depressing Album I’ve Ever Heard,” right up there with every one of Elliott Smith’s records and “And Now That I’m In Your Shadow” by Damien Jurado. Starlings, […]
folk
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Wolf men
There’s a hypothesized critical period to language acquisition that ranges from about 5 years old to puberty, in which humans develop their ability to communicate verbally and after which, find it difficult, if not almost impossible, to foster. Peter Pisano, a former private school teacher and vocally active half of the Minneapolis folk duo Peter […]
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Rappin’ cowboy rolls in to OKC
Whatever it is that Chris “Sandman” Sand does, it’s a dream. The self-described “rappin’ cowboy” was the subject of the documentary “Roll Out, Cowboy,” an official selection of last year’s deadCENTER Film Festival. Having toured with the likes of Michael Franti & Spearhead and Devendra Banhart, Sand now comes to Oklahoma City for a 7 […]
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U.S. Royalty — Mirrors
The harmony-heavy vocals and full-band arrangements of these folky tunes scream Fleet Foxes, America and Crosby, Stills & Nash. But I like U.S. Royalty more than all of those, because their harmonies retain a vitality and directness that cut through kitsch and get to the heart of the feeling. It also helps that they have […]
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Jonny Burke — Distance and Fortune
From Austin, Texas, where they know a thing or two about both genres, Jonny Burke excels at folk tunes, but is off on his rock tunes, on “Distance and Fortune.” It’s not the instrumental execution that’s off; Burke blasts out of the gate with “Broke Again,” which sounds somewhere between Springsteen and The Hold […]
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Various Artists – The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson
cover of “Darby’s Castle,” are unsettling in their mainstream approaches. Overall, “The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson” is a worthwhile, surprisingly low-key, listening experience with lots of hits and very few misses.”?Tracy M. Rogers
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Samantha Crain – You (Understood)
Samantha Crain makes good time. Where the Shawnee singer/songwriter stands today is miles away from the road she walked in 2007. That year’s rootsy “Confiscation” EP is now a faint flicker on the horizon’ a bluesy moment that she worked through with last year’s “Songs in the Night,” a transitional album where Crain leaned on […]
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Penny Hill – Unbutton Your Heart
When Penny Hill trotted onstage for the first time to meet the metro listening public, she deftly chose members of Norman’s phantom folksters Ghost of Monkshood as her backing band. Although she parted ways to craft her own identity before cutting her debut album, “Unbutton Your Heart,” some residual psychedelia still drips from her music, […]
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Monica Taylor – Cotton Shirt
Monica TaylorCotton Shirt CD release party9 p.m. Saturday, $10The Blue Door, 2805 N. McKinley 524-0738, www.bluedoorokc.com “Cotton Shirt” is the latest from Perkins singer/songwriter Monica Taylor, an 11-song album that, as its title suggests, provides wellworn stories, dependable chops and durable spirit.The title track is a bittersweet, finger-picking return to memories of love left behind. […]
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Justin Witte – Projections & Reflections
Justin Witte‘s music isn’t terribly complicated. He plays straightforward, acoustic blues with a soulful quality that is far too uncommon in today’s music landscape. A guitar, a harmonica and a voice were all he needed to craft his latest album, “Projections & Reflections.” It’s obvious from the first track, “Bring It on Home,” that Witte […]