It can sometimes feel like a mad, musical dash near the end of year, with new releases dropping left and right.
Some artists want to finally unburden themselves of some built-up songs or collections in order to start fresh in the coming year.
Some have holiday singles that need to be released and pushed hard, knowing there’ll only be a few weeks of potential traction for them before they go into hibernation for the next eleven months.
Either way, it’s the listeners that reap the benefits, as December singles have a tendency to be earnest, tender tracks often designed for year-in-review reflections and toasts to absent friends, families, or fond memories.
As ever, the Oklahoma City scene is right on target with some of the state’s best songwriters joined in the winter emotionalism by some newcomers just now emerging as the year begins to burn out.
From raw, rootsy folk-rock and bouncing ska to powerful balladry and capital-P “Pop,” here are the best recent releases to soundtrack your seasonal affective disorder.
John Calvin Abney – ‘Shortwaving EP’
By now, it’s safe to say that Abney has largely transcended the Oklahoma scene, and is admittedly based more often out of Austin, even, but no matter where he goes, we’ll likely always claim him as our own.
Oklahoma has a way of getting into your blood, you see, and that’s as audible and evident as ever on Abney’s brand new “Shortwaving EP,” a comfortingly concise collection of tracks showcasing the folkster’s expert – and perhaps inevitable – evolution into a folk-rock bandleader and interstate-bound spirit guide.
It’s all loose, jammy, and band-oriented, feeling mostly like raw, single takes and untouched, on-the-spot energy, with a hefty (and always welcome) resemblance to the bleeding-heart, guitar-driven Americana-rock of Magnolia Electric Co.
There may be nothing inherently holiday-themed about the road-weary, rolling sky rock on “Shortwaving,” but its focus on the endless expanses of the American highways and the cruising speed pace make it the perfect soundtrack for the inevitable road trip home for the holidays.
The “Shortwaving EP” by John Calvin Abney is streaming everywhere now.
Fair Weather Enemies – ‘Spent’ (dropping December 20th)
The faithful of the traditional ska sound have remained legion, even through all the genre’s many ups and downs in mainstream taste, but for these last few years, OKC’s straight-up, stripped-down ska scene has mostly boiled down to just The Big News.
Well, fret no longer, ska kids, because Fair Weather Enemies are kicking their way onto the scene with all the brass-bolstered pop-punk you could ever ask for.
Boasting members culled from across local ska history (even including former Big News members,) the Enemies are set to hit the ground running with their debut single “Spent,” dropping everywhere December 20th.
It’s a characteristically energetic foot-tapper, powered by an unleashed bassline and a heavy-stomping beat beneath the requisite injecting horn section.
But “Spent” actually draws more audibly from the British pop and reggae origins of ska than from the pop-punk so often associated with the sound after a bunch of California kids got their hands on it.
It’s a bop that you might expect to accompany some hot summer shenanigans, but it’s just as welcome as an excuse to dance yourself warm in December.
“Spent” by Fair Weather Enemies drops on streaming services everywhere on December 20th.
Birdie Catherine Brown – ‘This Holiday’
There are few things in life as spirit-shattering as the first holidays after the death of someone close.
It’s a feeling of such unique strangeness and grief that it’s nearly impossible to adequately capture in art, but this new standalone single from undeniable one-to-watch Birdie Catherine Brown pulls it off in a stunning, aching melody and cavernously sparse arrangement.
Built on little more than a faraway piano, a lightly strummed guitar, and Brown’s own ethereal vocal, the track breathes through its epic, gradually overwhelming five-and-a-half minutes, laying bare the sadness, yes, but more importantly the anger, confusion, and disembodied, time-stopping realization of reality slapping you in the face.
Eventually, the vocals begin overlapping – just like the thoughts and memories racing – and build only to be replaced with a creeping, ominous tone.
There’s no respite or reassurance at the end, only the slow fade away.
Even for all its darkness and clear, palpable sadness, “This Holiday” is a beautiful, delicate song that may well be an unexpectedly warm comfort to anyone who can relate.
“This Holiday” by Birdie Catherine Brown is streaming everywhere now.
Jared Lekites – ‘Here’s to the Lonely’
Lekites long ago proved himself to be one of OKC’s best and tightest songwriters as a driving force behind The Lunar Laugh.
On his brand new Christmas-focused solo single, “Here’s to the Lonely,” he jumps into all of his strongest songwriting influences and inclinations with both feet and lands squarely in pitch-perfect holiday pop territory.
Like so many of the best pop Christmas songs, it’s a brokenhearted singalong, hovering expertly in the world between AM country gold and 60s soul-pop, but with sleigh bells aplenty.
Lekites plays the instantly catchy, throwback pop sound for all its worth, anchored by a twanging guitar hook and an unmistakably John Lennon-esque vocal reverb.
“Here’s to the Lonely” is unquestionably warm and familiar, but kissed by loneliness and melancholy.
And isn’t that exactly what the holidays are all about?
“Here’s to the Lonely” by Jared Lekites is streaming everywhere now.
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.
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.