Sunday 19 May
OKG Newsletter
Stephen Carradini
Jonquil — One Hundred Suns
Do you like Vampire Weekend?
Indie
Stephen Carradini
Vampire Weekend may not have pioneered African rhythms and melodies in Western music, but they’ve certainly made it hip in the post-“Graceland” years.
Chikita Violenta — Tre3s
Incredibly cohesive, uniquely fulfilling experience
Indie
Stephen Carradini
Chikita Violenta’s “Tre3s” is the sort of album that makes me wonder what type of band the members label themselves as.
The Two Koreas — Science Island
Punk aggression with brains as well as brawn
Rock
Stephen Carradini
As a punk album, The Two Koreas’ “Science Island” rocks a heck of a lot more than most “punk” I’ve been unfortunately exposed to over the past decade.
Mann up
The tribe has spoken: One former Uglysuit member abandons Western pop for more global influences as ambient act Mannachine.
Music
Stephen Carradini
Mannachine
10 p.m. Saturday
Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewing Company, 50 Penn Place
belleislerestaurant.com, 840-1911
Here's your Chance
Greyson Chance appears Saturday with Sherree Chamberlain, At Long Last and Theater Breaks Loose.
Music
Stephen Carradini
It was a banner 2010 for 13-year-old Edmondite Greyson Chance, whose piano-pop skills were thrust into the spotlight via a school performance that caught fire on YouTube.
Wellfleet — The District
A great big slice of Southern music
Folk
Stephen Carradini
Some days are stressful. On those days, LCD Soundsystem just isn’t going to cut through the hectic atmosphere and produce some clarity of mind. The District’s “Wellfleet,” however, totally will.
The Walkmen, Peelander-Z to headline Norman Music Festival 4
Local bands to be announced this week
Music
Stephen Carradini
Norman Music Festival has announced via Facebook that NYC indie-rock band The Walkmen will be headlining NMF4, scheduled for April 28-30. Japanese pop-punk act Peelander-Z also will be playing the main stage.
Ruby Coast — Whatever This Is
Do you like Tokyo Police Club?
Indie
Stephen Carradini
So, there’s a band. It has a particular sound that’s unique. People love that sound and love that band. Then another band comes along, sounding exactly the same as the first band, but writing just as good, if not better, songs than the first band.
The Low Anthem — Smart Flesh
Almost the model of a brilliant folk band
Folk
Stephen Carradini
A lot of bands out there today think a snare shuffle and a banjo makes a folk song. They are wrong. A folk song requires a timeless, rustic feel that can’t be defined so neatly as that.
Arise, Lazarus
Thrash metal band comes to OKC
Music
Stephen Carradini
In the mood for some metal? Lazarus A.D. plays pure thrash, untainted by any other genres or trends.
Such great Heights
On the heels of ‘Skeletons,’ emo rockers Hawthorne Heights strip their songs down to the bone for an acoustic tour.
Music
Stephen Carradini
Hawthorne Heights with Will Loomis, Dalton Joe, Mighty Big Fire and Found in Atlases
6 p.m. Monday
The Conservatory
8911 N. Western
conservatoryokc.com
607-4805
$10
The Ex — Catch My Shoe
Dissonant, horn-laden punk that claims the term
Rock
Stephen Carradini
I don’t like punk much these days because it doesn’t mean anything. Strumming a guitar really fast and hard is no longer countercultural; it’s par for the course.
Esben and the Witch — Violet Cries
Artsy, detailed, Björk-esque
Social Distortion — Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes
Still relevant, 32 years later
Rock
Stephen Carradini
On one hand, Social Distortion’s “Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes” is a solid, workman-like set of Southern California punk tunes with three gems.
Cake — Showroom of Compassion
'Prolonging the Magic' + 'Fashion Nugget' = must buy
Rock
Stephen Carradini
Cake is all done trying to make new fans. Content with the listeners they’ve got, they decided to make a fan’s album.
