Last Updated on July 6, 2023, 10:15 AM | Published: July 4, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY — Once the fireworks stop echoing in your ears and the sound of evening cicadas once again gets tuned out like white noise, it’ll be time to start the search for that most elusive, most impossible-to-define “song of the summer.”
But with OKC’s music scene currently on fire (or maybe just spontaneously combusting from the heat) it’s going to be difficult to choose just one.
Local artists have been recently dropping one hot track after another, covering seemingly every imaginable indie taste from grunge to crossover hip-hop to metalcore and even to country-tinged roots rock.
No matter what kind of simmering summer jam you’re looking for, you’re likely to find it this year right here in your own backyard.
Gonzo LeBronzo – “Drag You Down”
With an appropriately choked out, fuzz-washed guitar-and-bass assault, this brand-new track from one of OKC’s best recent rock acts dives head-first into a desert-metal groove.
But when that dive hits water in the verse, it transitions seamlessly into a soupy, atmospheric abyss that’s decidedly more “Alice in Chains” than “Queens of the Stone Age.”
The doubled, harmonized vocal and distorted arpeggios recall everything that made Alice the darkest, grimiest, and most mysteriously compelling band of the grunge era, and the Gonzo guys go a long way here toward recapturing that same desperate, end-of-the-world energy for the streaming generation.
“Drag You Down” is streaming everywhere now.
Follow Gonzo LeBronzo at facebook.com/gonzolebronzo and on Instagram at @gonzolebronzo.
Josh Stamos – “Primo”
Crashing the gate with all the palm-muted power chords and razor-sharp, angular leads that any emocore fan could want, “Primo” announces Josh Stamos (aka Josh Tassinari of World Peace Death Ray) as a solo act force to be reckoned with in the city’s hardcore scene.
Forgoing the gutterals and squeals in favor of a pleading, heart-on-sleeve melodic vocal, the track finds a solid footing among the turn-of-the-millennium heavy emo sound that’s lately been tearing back up through the scene and reigniting all the best fiery, Midwestern angst.
Best of all, “Primo” comes bundled on the streamers with two other recent tracks under the name “Buds, Volume 1,” showcasing a host of Tassinari’s fire-breathing friends, including Donovan Smith on depression anthem “Sonder” and Crobone’s J.M. Hamilton on “Wahtye’s Tomb,” one of the best crushing metal tracks this year.
“Buds, Volume 1” featuring the track “Primo” is streaming everywhere now.
Follow Josh Stamos at facebook.com/joshstamosmusic and on Instagram at @joshstamos.
City Cinema – “Time”
The cross-genre OKC supergroup that we didn’t know we needed so badly, City Cinema brings together singer-songwriter Brandon Birdwell, inescapable drummer/multi-instrumentalist Ethan Neel, indie producer extraordinaire Michael Trepagnier, and reigning rap royalty Jabee into a shockingly cohesive, timely unit.
“Time” teases a throwback bass groove and piano sting before breaking into a much deeper, darker bed of soulful, low-toned vocalizations and a rolling backbeat beneath Jabee’s prayerful lamentation of time slipping away.
By the time Birdwell breaks in with “time’s on my side / time keeps on passing me by,” it already feels less like a mashup collaboration and more like a fully realized group exploring the buried emotional intersections between their influences.
I’m told that the two singles they’ve dropped so far are just a preface to a bigger forthcoming City Cinema release, so keep eyes and ears peeled.
“Time” is streaming everywhere now.
Follow City Cinema on Instagram at @citycinemamusic.
Beau Jennings & The Tigers – “People in this Town”
An E Street Band-sized fanfare kicks in the saloon doors and announces this perfectly summer-ready new track from the local country-folk-rock giants.
Few recent Oklahoma-themed tracks have felt so tailor-made to rolling down the windows and singing along while you cruise around your main drag on a summer night. This one isn’t just the perfect soundtrack for that scenario, it’s essentially about exactly that kind of hopeless, hapless wandering in and out of the local dive bar that doubles as the town square.
It’s about hustling, partying, drinking, and grinding away beneath the repetitions and religions of Anywhere, USA, and it’s all scored beautifully by the driving four-on-the-floor pulse and the tallboy-sized open chords.
“People in this Town” is streaming everywhere now.
Follow Beau Jennings & the Tigers at facebook.com/beaujenningsok and on Instagram at @beauscottjennings.
The Nghiems – “Nobody Move”
A floaty, bopping indie-pop-rock track filled with immediately catchy melodies and weirdly hyper-specific lyrical references with names and inside jokes you don’t get?
That’s right. In another world, “Nobody Move” could have been one of the very best early-90s Pixies tracks.
But whatever force in the universe that decides upon whom to bestow earworm pop-rock gold gave the song to The Nghiems, and we should all be thankful.
Who is the Larry of “Larry’s got his hands in everybody’s shirt”? Is it an easily dismissed, handsy, drunken friend? Is it an authority figure picking your pocket for what they think they’re owed? Is it a stick-up robbery like the “nobody moves, nobody gets hurt” refrain implies?
Who knows?
The fact of the matter is that one listen to the song is guaranteed to get it stuck in your head long enough that you’ll be forced to ask yourself these questions until you come up with an answer of your own.
If your perfect summer song needs to be catchy, effortless, bright, and endlessly replayable, look no further.
“Nobody Move” is streaming everywhere now.
Follow The Nghiems online at facebook.com/thenghiemsband and on Instagram at @thenghiems.
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.
