Listening to Horse Thief’s previous release — the haphazardly melodramatic Grow Deep, Grow Wild — felt like a chore. Whatever potential the Oklahoma City folk-pop act demonstrated on the EP was obscured behind a formulaic, contrived and ultimately hollow cloud. But it at least offered a glimmer of promise for a band consisting of, frankly, […]
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Horse Thief — Little Dust
In advance of their upcoming album, Fear in Bliss, Oklahoma City folk-rockers Horse Thief debuted a new single this week on popular music blog Stereogum. The song, “Little Dust,” is a breezier affair than “Devil,” the album’s first single. It features a mid-tempo rhythm section and twangy guitar swells layered beneath singer Cameron Neal’s nasally croon, and […]
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Skating Polly — Fuzz Steilacoom
The former is a startlingly authoritative, snarling take of Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse’s brand of punk-anchored “ugly pop,” a fully realized vision of doom and gloom showing just how lethal Skating Polly can be. The latter is a stripped-down, heart-tugging piano ballad on par with anything Regina Spektor has ever done, toying with lush […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Bottoms up
Photo: Mark Jaworski Things are definitely looking more up than down and out for The Front Bottoms. The indie punk act spent more than a few tours playing hole-in-the-walls and sleeping on floors but it now finds itself selling out sizable clubs and getting pegged to open up for well-known bands like Brand New, which […]
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Wax poetic
When Oklahoma City indie outfit Bored Wax was looking for a name, it decided to pay homage to its three loves: surf rock, wordplay and indifference. “We were all listening to older surf and punk music, and this name kind of popped up,” singer and guitarist Billy Muschinske said. “We thought we’d change the spelling […]
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Que sera, Sera
Photo: Hilary Harris Famed label Sub Pop is best known for its roster of alternative rock acts, ranging from classic grunge acts like Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney to new hipster favorites like Obits, Mogwai and Dum Dum Girls, so it’s strange to see a folk/country act in their roster. Sera Cahoone takes total pride in […]
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Somerset West — Black Cloud
Coming off a lengthy hiatus, the band’s passionate take on rock music (lining up neatly alongside acts like Brand New, Taking Back Sunday and Manchester Orchestra) is back in vogue, thanks to the “emo revival” now in full swing. Black Cloud brings most of the same touchstones found in its 2010 release, The Golden Land, […]
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Married with music
And it’s all done in a way that sounds devoid of polish or stuffy flamboyance. The project is the brainchild of Wil Norton and Danny Davis, two Oklahoma Christian University graduates who bonded over Super Smash Bros. and a common musical thread — though their histories wouldn’t suggest the latter. Norton, 26, cut his teeth […]