Recent releases reveal rap, rock, and radio-ready records

OKLAHOMA CITY — The varied, various styles and scenes of OKC have been spilling out across streamers recently, with some of the best names in pop, hip-hop, and metal all dropping big releases over the past weeks and months.

Recent releases have seen a full album offering from one of the scene’s best rappers, a pop queen harnessing hip-hop herself, a soft-rock supergroup getting raw, and one of the best offerings yet from the state’s most unexpected global breakouts.

Psych the Wordsmith – ‘Just Cuz…Pt. 4’

I’ll be honest, I originally intended to just pick a single track out of Psych’s new collection here. 

But there’s such an effortless and natural flow throughout the tracks on “Just Cuz…Pt. 4” that it felt more appropriate to speak to the full release, even as the frequency and general nonchalance of the “Just Cuz” series seems to imply that these are simply casual drops or progress reports.

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Psych the Wordsmith (provided)

Even as Psych continues to showcase his prowess as one of the most rhythmically creative and comfortable rappers on the scene, he still opens this collection with the infectious “Move Yo Body,” a decidedly lyrically sparse track that calls back perfectly to 90s house music.

From there, he’s putting bars down on top of a continuously surprising range of styles, from second-wave disco on “Can’t Nobody Hold U Down” to the playful, retro synth lines of “Make It Go Right” recalling something like 1980s Temptations.

Throughout, Psych’s lyricism is focused squarely on positivity, on progress, and more than a little on forgiveness.

It’s no secret that he wears his faith proudly on his sleeve, but (with the admitted exception of “The Only Way”) the tracks here rarely feel like worship songs. Instead, the openly religious elements come across like just another source of the strength and beauty Psych sees in the world around him.

No matter what the subject matter, Psych ably defends his title as “The Wordsmith” throughout, crisscrossing rhymes and rhetoric and always keeping the flow unique.

I mean, who else in the game here is just casually dropping the word “acrostic”?

“Just Cuz…Pt. 4” by Psych the Wordsmith is available now on all streaming services.

Follow Psych the Wordsmith on Instagram at @thetruepsychthewordsmith.

YZMN – ‘Dear Algorithm’

One of OKC’s most sonically adventurous pop purveyors dives headlong into rap territory, as YZMN seeks to reconcile her artistic instincts with the overbearing ubiquity of social media and virality.

It’s surely the most problematic of modern pop problems and one that practically any recording and releasing musician can relate to, and the way that YZMN seeks to confront and encapsulate the issue musically here feels apt.

The track is all starts and stops, big rises and abrupt falls, exploding electronics and guitars crashing into soft, hushed piano.

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YZMN

 It’s an attempt to capture the energy and elation of dropping something personal and powerful for the whole world to see, and then the immediate, halting slap of finding yourself right back at the drawing board, itching for the next fleeting burst of likes and shares.

The rap form actually serves as a pretty perfect and appropriate vessel for the subject, with the building speed and the near-overwhelming barrage of words on words. It gets difficult to keep up, just as quickly and easily as getting swept up in the wave of online clout-chasing.

At just two-and-a-half short minutes, it’s all over too soon, but it wraps up on YZMN’s terms. The exact moment she declares that she no longer wants to play that game, the whole thing ceases to be.

“Dear Algorithm” by YZMN drops on streaming services everywhere Friday, September 13th.

Follow YZMN on Instagram at @yzmnofficial.

Coat – ‘After LA’

Is Coat the most polished and ably professional-sounding band in OKC? Very possibly.

On brand new single “After LA,” the local scene supergroup is leaning comfortably into their throwback funk-rock inclinations, kicking it off with a perfectly vintage, precision-tightened fuzzy guitar lead before dropping a nicely hefty groove to conjure the title town’s sun-soaked 70s heyday.

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Coat on stage at Resonant Head (photo by Kevin Romero)

But atop it all is perhaps Hannah Edmondson’s most passionate and soulful vocal yet with Coat.

Johnny Manchild’s unmistakable production introduces increasing layers and persistently intriguing dynamics and movements, but it all feels in welcome service of Edmondson’s compellingly clean vocal, giving her room to swoon and swagger without getting washed away in dream-pop atmospherics.

It’s both breezy and beefy and should be well suited to soundtracking these early autumn months.

“After LA” by Coat is streaming everywhere now.

Follow Coat on Instagram at @coat.music.

Chat Pile – ‘Masc’

After a whirlwind couple of years that have seen shocking global success and international acclaim, OKC’s own sludge-metal monsters Chat Pile are officially back and ready to once again rub our noses in what we’ve wrought.

And in an election year, no less.

November will see the release of long-awaited full-length “Cool World,” but the guys have already treated fans to a peek at a couple of tracks, starting with the appropriately seething “I Am Dog Now.”

But it’s the upcoming album’s second single, “Masc,” that shows what evolution can look like for a band built on crushing metal and open contempt for convention.

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Chat Pile, July 2022 (provided)

The band has been open about their love of late-90s/early-oughts nu-metal, and “Masc” sees them incorporating that influence beautifully, tragically, even.

The track could honestly be the best Deftones song we’ve never heard, with a groove-metal kickoff giving way to an absolutely massive two-chord riff and trademark jagged guitar melody.

But singer Raygun’s depressive confrontation of toxic masculinity and dangerously repressed emotion elevates the track to a genuine standout among the band’s entire bleak catalog.

Elections aside, November can’t come quickly enough.

“Masc” by Chat Pile is streaming everywhere now.

Follow Chat Pile on Instagram at @chatpileband.


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.


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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.