OKLAHOMA CITY — There’s a new indie label force in the Oklahoma music scene, or if they’re not exactly new, they’re at least rearing their heads and making their real powers known for the first time.
Mystery Class Records has been popping up as a name on a handful of local releases for a little while now, going back to at least 2021. But true to their name, there hasn’t been much information floating around to tell us who they really are or what they plan to do, or even if they had designs on being a full-service new label.
Well, we finally have some answers in the form of their first full-length artist compilation that dropped alongside a new social media burst and an official introductory message announcing themselves properly.
Mystery Class Records, it turns out, is indeed aiming to be a new indie label force for the state, driven by a handful of local artists and their own acts, but also throwing the doors wide and showcasing a whole range of young artists and sounds.
It’s all on full display on “Side Quests Vol. 1,” their first label sampler offering a glimpse into their already impressive roster culled from some of the most chaotically energetic and exciting acts across the homegrown emo and electro spectrums of both OKC and Tulsa.
The compilation is already on streamers, and cassettes and CDs are starting to pop up in indie shops around town, but they’re launching the release – and the label itself – into the wider world this Saturday, March 1st, with a listening party and meet-and-greet at ARTSPACE at Untitled in Downtown OKC.
In addition to it being a great little collection of acts, “Side Quests Vol. 1” is also shockingly well-sequenced and composed, even with just nine tracks and a short thirty minutes.
So let’s take a look at the songs that are announcing Mystery Class Records and the acts that are helping to form its first beating heart.
Cryhard – ‘Sorcerer’s Tome’
The Cryhard guys are actually the main masterminds behind Mystery Class Records, so it’s only right that they get to kick off the first comp themselves.
And they don’t waste any time, diving straight into some modern, texture-drenched emo riffing full of big-chord, elbow-swinging strumming and head-bobbing, epic backbeats with a reverb-washed vocal floating into the ether above the fray.
Kitchen Slug – ‘benchmark’
Probably the release’s most straightforward shoegaze-y track, with a light propulsive beat and a summery, fuzzed-out symphony of guitars and vocal layers. This is a perfect track for fans of genuine, 90s-style gaze.
Idiot Mile – ‘Cursed’
The comp’s closest thing to something like metal, Idiot Mile crashes into the proceedings without a second thought, barreling into some rolling, heavily textured hard-indie, with a sharply angular guitar attack that recalls underground metal-gazer legends Cloakroom or even the bouncier moments from OKC’s own Chat Pile.
Always Last – ‘Flawed me’
How about a nice big helping of straight-up, throwback emo?
If you’re still pining for the high school heyday of early-2000s pop-punk-charged emo, then these Tulsans are going to be your new heroes, with all the yell-along choruses and fist-raising breakdowns they can pack into two quick minutes.
Hobbyist, – ‘Unwilted Stutter’
Here’s where the comp takes a big (and welcome) turn into more electro-tinged, digital deconstructionist territory.
Hobbyist, (yes, that stray comma is there on purpose) is actually surprisingly tough to describe. It’s funky, washy, shimmering, and fun in an odd, can’t-quite-put-your-finger-on-it way like Prince and Washed Out fell into a teleporter with some breakbeats and it all came out as one big monster.
Sweetest Pot – ‘Love Potions’
One of the most consistently exciting and effective acts in OKC right now (and the only act on this release that I’ve written about before,) “Love Potions” is a showcase for everything that makes Sweetest Pot great.
It’s some kind of totally deconstructed R&B track chopped down and rearranged into a subtly sad and wistful little song of longing, with a persistent warbling acoustic guitar and some unmistakably “Blade Runner”-type synth lines adding a touch of cyberpunk to the soul.
Settling – ‘Tied up’
Goth-rockers take note: Settling is carrying the torch that you need right now, and they’re doing it some serious justice.
“Tied up” isn’t just doing a dark, synthy, near pitch-perfect Depeche Mode, though. The track also has some genuine pleading emotionalism that gives it a character all its own and keeps it grounded and real throughout its too-short two minutes.
Acid Baptism – ‘late at night’
With a name like that, you might expect some seething sludge-metal or poisonous punk-rock.
But what Acid Baptism actually brings to the party is a gorgeously grooving track loaded with lo-fi synths, splashy acoustic drums, and a slip-sliding lead guitar at the forefront, all washed away in dreamy delays, absolutely perfect for a late-night drive through a neon-soaked sci-fi city.
Toad Socks – ‘Noytama / Nola’
The finale here is actually two nicely resolute electro tracks by the whimsically named Toad Socks, separated by a short space and feeling almost like some ending credits music playing out the compilation and lowering the curtain.
“Noytama” is all mid-tempo piano and texture before “Nola” picks up the pace just a bit and dances off into a nice, big, pixilated sunset.
Each of these tracks is tight, unique, and kissed by just a bit of unhinged chaos waiting in the wings.
If this is the kind of range and talent that we can expect from Mystery Class going forward, then I’m all in.
“Side Quests Vol. 1” by Mystery Class Records is streaming now. A listening party and meet-and-greet event for Mystery Class is set for Saturday, March 1st at ARTSPACE at Untitled in Downtown OKC. For more information, visit mysteryclassrecords.com.
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.
