All the dust and dirt in the air aren’t the only things that the springtime winds are blowing in right now.
There’s also been a slew of new singles blooming like redbuds across the city scene, with indie, alt-rock, crossover country, and danceable R&B all sweeping down the plains.
And that includes some major local players as well as some brand new names and first-timers looking to hit the ground running this season.
So if the smoke-filled air and relentless allergies have you barricaded inside the house this spring, here’s a handful of new local singles to help you pass the time.
Brandon Birdwell – ‘High Low’
The man behind 2024’s remarkable “How Have I Let You Down?” is back with his second new single of the year, “High Low,” a blippy, foot-tapping slice of deconstructed, epic electro-rock that Birdwell keeps aimed right back at his own heart.
While “How Have I Let You Down?” was all about asking that question of his own emotional state and looking back to find the past missteps, “High Low” reads like a man looking out for the upcoming twists and turns and girding himself for whichever way they twist. No longer afraid of the highs or the lows, Birdwell is hoping to simply take it all as it comes now.
And he lays out his hopeful ethos over a track that opens with some seriously Postal Service-y fuzz pianos and twinkling leads before opening up into a full, dense Peter Gabriel-style singalong, complete with a worldbeat sway and a liquid bassline.
It feels like the end credits music for a movie, fitting for a song so openly about resolve.
“High Low” by Brandon Birdwell is streaming everywhere now.
Funny Dog – ‘Hunting Season’
As 90s rock continues to spread its surprisingly robust influence among the newest generation of young rockers, the sounds and styles of that time co-opted by current acts just keep expanding and refining into something comfortingly nostalgic, but no less powerful or earnest.
Take local newcomers Funny Dog, who just dropped their debut single “Hunting Season” as a pitch-perfect example of the modern intersections of 90s post-grunge alternative rock and the much more modern sounds of loose, energetic emo.
But rather than blow all their youthful energy up front, Funny Dog open things up with a wonderful restraint and a tight, cascading motif of acoustic strumming and leading bass before bursting into a big-chord chorus and crashing into an explosive finale of minor-step grunge riffs and full-throated screams.
Think of it like a 2020s version of early Silverchair and you’ll be right on.
“Hunting Season” by Funny Dog is streaming everywhere now.
Dominique Seifert – ‘Selfish’
Another debut single for the season, Oklahoma’s Dominique Seifert dropped “Selfish,” a pop-soul techno track throwing a satirical punch at the most insufferable type of egotistical modern man.
Sung from the perspective of a guy who celebrates his own selfishness and worships his own self, the track keeps things hyper-minimal – with only the simplest clicking beat and piano pads beneath Seifert’s close, present vocal – before lifting into an infectious, wordless club-banger chorus.
It’s a fluid and shockingly catchy track, full of trance-y synth leads and tight, funky, Chic-style guitar lines, and it’s a great announcement for Seifert as a new sensual electro-pop upstart for Oklahoma.
And of course, we all know an annoying guy like the song’s main character, so it’ll always be satisfying to hear that personality put on blast.
“Selfish” by Dominique Seifert is streaming now on YouTube.
R.R. Williams & Beau Jennings – ‘I Believe This is Killing Me’
Wasting no time at all, two of the state’s rawest, realest roots-rockers crash straight into “I Believe This is Killing Me,” their new dual-lead duet staring down the barrel of age in a changing world.
It’s exactly what you want from their styles, solid rock with shoulder-swinging guitar strums and heavy-footed drumming and just the right kind of coarse, twang-touched vocals that make you believe the hometown storytelling and homegrown accolades.
Jennings’ and Williams’ voices blend like the best late-night dive bar singalong after a pitcher or two, and by the time the harmonica rises up in the bridge, any fan of latter-day Springsteen is going to be in fist-pumping rock heaven.
There’s a beautiful – and welcome – irony in employing a sound so time-honored and immortal and ceaselessly energetic to lament the transitory nature of youthful energy and vigor, but there’s probably also no better way to do it.
“I Believe This is Killing Me” by R.R. Williams and Beau Jennings 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.
