Last Updated on October 23, 2024, 7:45 AM | Published: October 23, 2024
The air may be cooling off (kind of) outside, but take a look at some recent single drops from some of Oklahoma’s best and breaking song slingers, and you’ll still see the flowers, dogs, and dizzy spells left over from the long heat.
Take a listen, however, and you might just hear the cooling-off.
Between some of the state’s most lauded veteran singer-songwriters and some relative newcomers poised to kick down the doors and announce themselves with style, October has seen a wide range of widescreen tracks, some densely, richly layered, and some stretched out like the autumn sky.
So whether you’re looking for some vibe-heavy indie-rock, some romantic, rustic folk, or some deeply grooving R&B, sit back, because these Okies have what you need this month.
some fear – ‘Skin I Can’t Peel’
The recently rising tide of new shoegaze is becoming a tidal wave, with more and more young bands finding an affinity for the spaced-out, fuzz-washed sounds of 90s underground indie seemingly every day lately.
One of the newest acts showcasing a near-perfection of the sound in OKC is the diminutively stylized some fear, who popped up quietly in the scene last year, but now feel ready to announce themselves properly.
“Skin I Can’t Peel” is pure “slowcore,” a three-minute staring-off-into-space anthem for all the nagging thoughts and unshakable people that can derail your whole mind, propelled by the kind of driving momentum you get from a late-night drive or a half-awake train trip with your head against the window.
It’s all built on the requisite down-strummed minor chords, persistent backbeat, and heavily reverbed everything, but there’s a wonderfully subtle building intensity that slowly, quietly cranks up throughout, offering a deeper, more tangible emotional weight than a lot of other fully detached recent shoegazers.
some fear are set to drop their self-titled full-length debut this coming January, and these early single drops should be enough to land it firmly on anyone’s indie-rock radar.
“Skin I Can’t Peel” by some fear is streaming everywhere now. Follow some fear on Instagram at @somefearmusic.
Fiawna Forté – ‘Cascading Lives’
There’s so much organic space and lived-in roominess in Tulsa-based singer/songwriter Fiawna Forté’s newest track that you can practically hear the shelves shaking on the walls around you.
It’s a necessarily sparse folk track, with guitars, organ, and a single, simple kick drum all far removed, leaving only Forté’s strikingly expressive voice close to you, as if all the instrumentation is only passing through and swirling around the edges of her song.
As ever from Forté, that song is a deeply personal, cleverly cryptic consideration of how a life fits into the wider world while still struggling to carve out its own space.
It’s a song of quiet, remarkable confidence and maturity that’s more often only seen in the latter days of the folk legends.
“Cascading Lives” by Fiawna Forté is streaming everywhere now. Follow Fiawna Forté on Instagram at @fiawnaforte.
Mic Willis – ‘BLEEDING ROSES’
Intriguingly billed as a blend of R&B, blues, rock, and even country, singer Mic Willis is pure soul, with every element of “BLEEDING ROSES” – the title song and leadoff track of his new full-length album – anchored in the kind of sensual, mid-tempo funk that the season calls for.
Right out of the gate, it’s a plucky guitar that pulls us in with a repeating riff so deep in the pocket that it conjures shades of D’Angelo.
When Willis’s voice enters the fray, it’s all Stax-style passion, lightly tinged with the same southern soul and sweat-dappled brow.
The track plays like a landlocked, 21st-century “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay,” contentedly lonely, but longing, with a touch of swirling sound effects and atmosphere surrounding the whole affair like the oppressive summer wind.
It’s an ode to resilience, even long after defeat, and it’s an awesome way to kick off an album.
“BLEEDING ROSES” by Mic Willis is streaming everywhere now. Follow Mic Willis on Instagram at @iammicwillis.
Ken Pomeroy & John Moreland – ‘Coyote’
It’s tough to think of any two acts to emerge from the full sprawl of Oklahoma’s singer-songwriter scene in recent years with as much buzz and unique energy surround them, and getting them together on one track now feels like a no-brainer.
With a committed simplicity and just a rugged acoustic and a pedal steel, “Coyote” still manages to open with a sound that’s surprisingly cinematic, setting a vast grassland stage for Pomeroy’s opening vocal.
Pomeroy’s voice has evolved so naturally into one of the most robust and emotive of her generation, and she puts her effortless range through its paces in the track’s first verse/chorus jaunt.
When Moreland’s voice enters in the second verse, it ambles in with ease and welcome on his trademark downtrodden croon and innate sadness.
Like any great duet, the magic happens when they blend their voices, each elevating and galvanizing the other and adding power to the song’s premise of standing down the dogs that’ll eat you if you let them.
Extra kudos are warranted for including both pronunciations of the word “coyote,” too.
“Coyote” by Ken Pomeroy and John Moreland is streaming everywhere now. Follow them on Instagram at @kenpomeroymusic and @johnmoreland.
You can find out about local music and performance happenings in the OKC metro weekly in this music column by Brett Fieldcamp. | Brought to you by True Sky Credit Union.
Author Profile
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
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