It only took Guardant 30 seconds to win me completely over to its team. The quintet’s hyperactive, quirky dance pop is simply irresistible. The group head-bobbed, shared microphones, switched instruments, clapped for each other, clapped in songs, and generally had as much fun as possible. Its incredibly peppy sound was anchored by herky-jerky keyboards, speedy […]
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SXSW 2013: Bowlsey / Desi and Cody / Brave
The mellow hip-hop and chill-pop vibes of Oklahoma City’s Bowlsey set the afternoon off at a very easygoing pace. Composed of organ, acoustic guitar, synths and gentle beats, the trio’s tunes casually made their way to my ears. Its spartan musical arrangements put the focus squarely on the vocals. Two of the three members were […]
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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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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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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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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 […]
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Best in Show
Although set amid the fictional Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show in Philadelphia, the comedy is really concerned with five sets of the contestants’ owners, including — but not limited to — a longtime married couple (Catherine O’Hara and co-writer Eugene Levy), two gay men (Michael McKean and John Michael Higgins) and a lonely woodsman (Guest). […]
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Radio gets ‘Red’ again
Roughly eight years ago, The Red Dirt Radio Hour got its start on KVOO-FM 98.5 in Tulsa. The program specialized in spotlighting Oklahoma bands like the Red Dirt Rangers, whose unique sound can best be described as a mash-up of rock, folk, country and blues. Rangers member John Cooper helped found the program. However, he […]
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Unknown soldiers
Photo: Neil Krug Unknown Mortal Orchestra is about as digital age as it gets. The Portland-based project, helmed by New Zealand export Ruban Nielson, has generated a substantial amount of buzz in less than three years of existence — largely because of a rigorous touring schedule in which the gasps for air are scant. Yet […]
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Cosmostanza — Champs
<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”=””> The gruesome twosome of guitarist Maxwell Moore and drummer Raney Aboud shows what it’s learned on the heels of August’s awesome Rad Vibes, yet knows to keep the things that made Cosmostanza so intriguing in the first place: sugary hooks, youthful energy. Champs […]