Rock
Rob Collins
Queen ruled the world commercially from 1977 to 1982, fighting off punk upstarts and pioneering airwaves with its foray into funk.
Wednesday 22 May
OKG Newsletter
Topic: cd reviews
Queen — News of the World / Jazz / The Game / Flash Gordon / Hot Space
Get ready for a second round of royal reissues.
Rock
Rob Collins
Queen ruled the world commercially from 1977 to 1982, fighting off punk upstarts and pioneering airwaves with its foray into funk.
Mutemath — Odd Soul
I’d prefer odder. Wait, ‘odder’ is actually a word?
Rock
Matt Carney
Just two weeks ago, I enjoyed the pleasure of interviewing Mutemath drummer Darren King in advance of his band’s appearance at The Conservatory.
Twin Sister — In Heaven
NYC indie-pop dreamers concoct a solid debut album after an infectious single.
Indie
Matt Carney
Ever since “All Around and Away We Go” reminded me of Talking Heads last summer, I’ve kept my eyes out (and many fingers crossed) for flashes of Twin Sister’s name across the blogosphere. Much to my delight, it showed up last summer alongside fellow NYCers’ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart on a touring bill aimed at the Midwest, with a stop at OU’s campus (not three minutes’ walk from my house) right smack in the middle of it.
Terra Lightfoot — Terra Lightfoot
This dream-folk debut will induce dead sleep.
Folk
Matt Carney
As the common people have progressed over the last 50-plus years, so has the topicality of their music. Since the development of genres in popular music in the 1950s, contemporary folk music has skewed apolitical, alluring and beautiful.
Balkans — Balkans
Buzzy, noisy Atlanta band shows promise, guitar chops.
Rock
Joshua Boydston
Musically, I’m a sucker for many things. Chief among them is anything related to post-punk and garage rock. Bloc Party was my off-ramp from Linkin Park, while No Age and Wavves have dominated my total plays on iTunes for about two years now.
Body Language — Social Studies
This band is properly named.
Indie
Joshua Boydston
If Body Language breaks out like it has the potential to, the Brooklyn-based four piece surely would owe a heavy debt to Passion Pit; it’s a similar formula with the twist of adding a female vocalist … although that feels but a step removed from Michael Angelakos’ signature falsetto.
The Damn Quails — Down The Hatch
Country
Matt Carney
“Down the Hatch” is an important debut release for more than just the duo of Gabriel Marshall and Bryon White, who go by The Damn Quails. It’s indie label 598 Recordings’ (Chance Sparkman and Mike McClure) first long player, and a product of a prodigious amount of homegrown talent.
M83 — Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
French imagineer captures hipsters’ nostalgia, invites them to explore broad, cinematic soundscapes.
Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of The Police / Def Leppard / Van Halen
For the little rocker in all of us. Or at least those of us who one day hope for little rockers of their own.
Eclectic
Matt Carney
I am not a father. Nor do I harbor plans of becoming one anytime soon. I’d like to spawn a kiddo sometime in the next eight or more years, although the technicality of finding a lady nice enough to want to help me out with that is kind of a wild-card factor. Makes such things difficult to predict.
Florence + The Machine — Ceremonials
No sophomore slump for this soulful siren.
Pop
Jenn Scott
Pre-2008, only a few knew of Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine. After the release of “Kiss with a Fist” in June that year, followed by “Dog Days Are Over” that December, few could contain themselves awaiting the release of her first album, “Lungs.”
