Tuesday 21 May
 
 
CD reviews

Various artists — Never Give Up: Celebrating 10 Years of The Postal Service

Few indie bands have had the impact on current music that The Postal Service has. Even fewer have done so with only one album.
05/15/2013 | Comments 0

Big Worm — Bench All-Stars

Fans of the comedy classic Friday may recognize the name Big Worm, but the Big Worm behind Bench All-Stars is rooted not in South Central L.A., but on the streets of Oklahoma City.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Code 22 — Going Soft: The Acoustic Album!

The guys of Oklahoma City’s Code 22 seem like a likable group of fellas. Their latest release, Going Soft: The Acoustic Album!, is likable enough as well — so likable that on first listen, I took its clean, acoustic sound and clear, unstressed vocals as an alternative praise-and-worship band.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Eureeka — Polysynthetic Fields

It’s always refreshing to hear music that embraces its own eccentricity, yet presents it in an accessible and meek fashion. Eureeka — the Norman-based duo of Jordan Vargas and Devin Wahl — has tapped into this rarified air on its self-released EP, Polysynthetic Fields.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Tom Skinner — Tom Skinner

Sincerity is nearly dead in songwriting. The image of the earnest singer with eyes tightly shut and a crack in his voice as he plunges to emotional depths has become a joke.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

SXSW: Trampled by Turtles


Foot-stomping, blood-pounding bluegrass/folk/country

By Stephen Carradini March 18th, 2011
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It's always fun when a band opens with your favorite tune by them. When Trampled by Turtles launched into "Wait So Long" as their first tune, I knew it was going to be a blast to watch their bluegrass/folk/country amalgam. The best part about TBT is that they are the fastest turtles in the world; there was only one slow song in the set, and the rest were played at drag-race speed. There was even an instrumental that made light of this, playing the same forms faster and faster. Adrenaline levels increased with the tempo.

The vocalist is solid, and his voice sung out even over the legions of fans (which I did not expect at all) crammed into Swan Dive, whose dive-ness deserves its own post. But the band paid the venue no heed and just powered through their set, even acquiescing to screams for an encore. It's like Mumford and Sons, only three times the speed and with way less indie pretentiousness. Their fiddle player was wearing overalls; their lead singer was wearing jeans and a plain white tee. Okay, their banjo player was wearing a Run-DMC shirt, but you can't win 'em all.

If you like Mumford and Sons, you must do yourself a favor and check out Trampled by Turtles. Your dancing shoes will thank you.
 
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
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