Last Updated on August 16, 2023, 8:44 PM | Published: August 16, 2023
Mention “Oklahoma music” to anyone not in the know, and you’re likely to hear about Flaming Lips-esque weirdo-rock or, obviously, country.
And while those can both be great, and while we’ve obviously produced some of the most important acts for either of those worlds in the past few decades, the full scope of the state’s musical community encompasses so much more, with something for practically anyone.
From soulful, modern balladry, to brutal metal, to the kind of indie-rock tailored to dropping the windows and hitting the gas, the recent slate of local singles has been showing off all sides, shapes, and sounds of the scene this summer.
Here’s a look at just a few can’t-miss drops, no matter your taste.
SpaceCowboy – ‘Everything Breathes’
You’d think that eventually there’d be no room left for another bleeding-heart power-chord alt-rock anthem, but then a track like “Everything Breathes” comes along with its palpable, genuine emotion and powerful, chest-punching production and reminds you of why we’ll always need this music.
Their third single drop just this year, OKC’s SpaceCowboy have been building and refining themselves for a few years now, but are hitting a major stride in 2023 with a few multi-state jaunts and no end in sight to the new track releases.
Don’t be fooled by the bare-shouldered, farmer’s overalls live wardrobe, they’re making the kind of high-energy, high-emotion rock that would have rightfully torn up 90s college radio.
“Everything Breathes” is streaming everywhere now.
Follow SpaceCowboy online at facebook.com/spacecowboyokc and on Instagram at @spacecowboyokc.
Casper Sage – ‘Flow State’
A far-off false start appropriately kicks off this airy, pensively floating rumination on the desire to be cut loose from OKC-based singer/guitarist – and one piece of breakouts O2Worldwide – Casper Sage.
Sounding like an out-of-body daydream, “Flow State” is a lo-fi, mid-tempo neo-soul masterclass in atmosphere, with little more than a simplistic groove, fluid bassline, and Sage’s own multi-layered vocal and watery, effected guitar.
With this kind of sensuous soul and R&B so often fixated on romance or loneliness, it’s a welcome turn to get a song longing for solitude and dreaming of a disconnected, wandering life that lets you “flow like the water.”
“Flow State” is streaming everywhere now.
Follow Casper Sage online at facebook.com/caspersagemusic and on Instagram at @caspersage.
Medicine Horse – ‘Dead Medicine’
Kicking off with an ever-so-slightly southern-tinged lead riff, this gate-crasher opens up the forthcoming debut album by woman-fronted, Indigenous doom-metalers Medicine Horse.
Openly drawing from the state’s country music history, Medicine Horse’s metal is naturally infused with a hefty dose of twang and country groove, but cranked up to 11 and smothered in a sharp, bitter distortion.
But it’s singer Nico Williams’ seething, razor-throated yell that commands the track and that openly bears the torch of rage against colonial capitalism, environmental destruction, and industrial disease.
“I heard the old ones talk, they said the green ones know,” she sings. “It’s been two lifetimes. I’m more poison than blood now.”
“Dead Medicine” is the first track on Medicine Horse’s self-titled debut, dropping next month, and I have every reason to believe the entire album will be just as powerful and unforgiving.
“Dead Medicine” is streaming everywhere now.
Follow Medicine Horse online at facebook.com/medicinehorse918 and on Instagram at @medicinehorse918.
Mad Honey – ‘Concentration’
Appropriately for a track titled “Concentration,” this taste of Mad Honey’s upcoming full-length “Satellite Aphrodite” takes its time and commits to a sparse, urgent build before the texture rises up into a fuzzy, crashing eruption in the chorus.
Singer Tiff Sutcliffe (who often shares lead vocal duties with bandmate Lennon Bramlett) carries this one herself, offering not just a breakup song, but a scorched earth treatise of cutting ties.
It’s been easy for a long time to slot Mad Honey into OKC’s dream-pop scene, and there’s still plenty of that kind of reverb-washed airiness here, but there’s also a bolder forefront intensity that takes them far further than into heavier, angrier shoegaze territory.
“Concentration” is streaming everywhere now.
Follow Mad Honey online at facebook.com/madhoneyband and on Instagram at @madhoneyband.
And … This!
If you’re the type that loves the strangest of the strange in your crazy cult film viewing, then there’s a few awesome showcases around town that cater specifically to scratching that itch.
But if you’re the type that loves strange cult movies with a creative craft cocktail and a heaping side of Cold War paranoia aesthetic, well then you’re in luck, because Mondo Mondays has partnered with the new ownership at The Bunker Club on NW 23rd.
Formerly a Monday night mainstay down the street at Ponyboy, some leadership changes and behind-the-scenes happenings with the venues put the brakes on the weekly weirdo showcase for awhile, but now it’s back up and running at the revamped Bunker and ready to get as wild as ever.
From Jodorowsky’s “Holy Mountain” to the immortal “Spice World” to the undeniable Ugandan action masterpiece “Who Killed Captain Alex,” Mondo’s programming is only guaranteed to keep you on your toes.
For more info, check out @mondomondaysokc on Instagram.
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.
