Chaos Candy - stepmom

[Single - Dream Punk]

Those who have dabbled in the Oklahoma music scene over the past few years are sure to be familiar with stepmom. From mainstage performances at both last year’s and this year’s Norman Music Festival, to a CLM Live session back in 2021, and supporting (and even facilitating) multiple community shows and events - the group’s presence has been a fixture in this new infrastructure.

Since their well-received, self-titled debut album in 2020, the overall sound and aesthetics have not largely shifted… but they have matured.

Describing themselves as orchestral dream punk, stepmom’s latest single “Chaos Candy” certainly delivers on all three descriptors, achieving a delightfully quirky affectation with thoughtful contrast of styles and tones.

Despite almost a year elapsing between official releases, they quickly hit their stride; as after a short wurli intro, the drums tumble and feedback builds, deftly allowing just a glimpse of the hook - surf rock beat, complete with some “ooh ooh”s from the vocals - before dropping us into the verses. Spacey guitar and playful basslines poke and swirl as vocalist Lindsey Cox admits, “creatures in my mind / do a little dance when you’re around.”

Spunky keyboard lines and electric guitar give even more infectious energy to the chorus - where the melody will surely get caught “in your hair” - eventually exploding into a distorted solo before burning out into a soft sonic glow.

The section that follows feels more like an interlude than a bridge — introducing entirely new instruments, including oboe and strings (both synthetic and analog), while Cox muses delicately, “do I have time / to fall in love?” Until, as if sturdied by the beautiful crescendo of harmonies, she vows, “I’ll make time.”

It is during this section that the four-piece punk band shows their inclusion of the word “orchestral” to describe their genre is not just a hint toward their layered and thoughtful musical arrangements, but a literal timbral guide.

Shaped up to be some of their most expansive writing yet, “Chaos Candy”, with one final repetition of its hook, snaps shut like a dream - vivid, but gone just as quick as it came - leaving us to stir in our own head. Could this be the start of a new sonic era for stepmom? We’ll be sticking around to find out.

Hand Signals - Ben Quad

[Double-track - Emo]

Another band with almost a year elapsed between releases, one could forgive Ben Quad knowing the journey that they’ve been on since - rigorous U.S. touring (with the likes of Hot Mulligan) off their 2022 debut album “I’m Scared That’s All There Is” as well as another breakout single “You’re Part of It” shortly after, followed by record label deals (signed with Wax Bodega) - recalling the journey of another Oklahoma band, Mad Honey, featured here last month.

Though unlike anyone else I’ve personally seen, they have surpassed not just geographical borders but industrial ones, landing a song (the first track from their debut album) on the popular rhythm video game Rock Band; which, even though these days it’s probably more time-consuming to acquire any functioning Rock Band instrument controller than it would be to actually learn that instrument, is really cool.

Indeed, many have taken notice of what this four-piece emo band has been doing in and around Oklahoma since 2018 — from more established names in the genre, to some employees over at Harmonix, evidently. But ultimately, it is the fans that have brought Ben Quad to this point; in part, because they are so easy to be fans of.

Their consistent and genuine championing of the community - prioritizing people over numbers - has garnered them a massive level of DIY support, which they’ve mobilized for feats including iTunes chart-topping grassroots social media campaigns and public house-show-plus-music-video-shoot combos.

That brief overview brings us to October 2023, where Ben Quad find themselves in a unique position. In and out of time-zones, building off a major debut while the specter of a sophomore album may begin to loom — their latest musical offering captures those feelings of being torn between past, present, and future.

“Hands Signals” is two angsty midwest emo tracks with zero filler, clocking just under three minutes each. Both feature some of Ben Quad’s tightest (that is, most focused) songwriting; featuring well-mixed instrumental cuts with just the right amount of guitar riffing and drum filling, and anchored by powerhouse vocal melodies and satisfying lyrical phrases that lend each section its own identity, while also connecting the pieces to the larger whole. 

Both songs - “Would You Tell Picasso To Sell His Guitars?” and “Holding Patterns” - launch directly into their respective intros, as if unable to hold back the emotions they contain for any longer than absolutely necessary. The guitar and bass arrangements are as catchy and kinetic as ever, but even more-so over these massive drums, built around a slamming snare with a thick reverb, complimented by a broad range of cymbal timbres.

Lyrically, Ben Quad wrestles with this forward motion of time — feeling pressured by its constance - “So much of life is free / Unless you're too distracted by the shit that's always out of reach” (Picasso) - but then relieved by its purification - “Believe me / When I say / It’s better off / It ends this way” (Holding Patterns). 

Even the cover art carries this contemplation on momentum, as the framed subject seems to barrel downhill; toward that “better off” mentioned in “Holding Patterns” perhaps, or maybe away from an unfulfilled past, so that the future won’t be tainted by its emptiness: “It’s burned in my head / Every word that we said / Lied to ourselves / Promised future amends.”

Since our direction must be decided, there’s an underlying instability due to the gravity of the choice - a result of the finality of time’s passing - as the last words on “Would You Tell Picasso To Sell His Guitars?” warn, “You sure you wanna take this route / I can’t save you now.”

The song title “Would You Tell Picasso To Sell His Guitars?” is also a line from a scene in the movie School of Rock; in which the main character (played by Jack Black) poses that question as an insulted response to being asked to, essentially, give up on pursuing his dreams of making music.

Similarly, Ben Quad seems to be at their own crossroads on “Hand Signals”. Whichever direction they decide to go — the world can only hope they attain the same outcome as Dewey Finn, and continue rocking long into the future.

It’s Not You, It’s Me - K.O.

[Album - R&B/Rap]

K.O. is not only the (self-proclaimed) “illest bitch alive”, but also one of the more consistent artists on the Oklahoma music scene currently. Though her music stems from a very personal perspective, she maintains a broad public persona — from her frequent engagement and output across multiple digital platforms, to show performances (recently opened for cupcakKe at OKC’s Beer City), to musical appearances via features for other artists, all among an abundance of her own material.

It’s Not You, It’s Me marks the Enid rapper/singer’s ninth project, and may be K.O. at her most comfortable - not just in her musical ability, but in her self-image - as we see her pictured on the cover: laid down, not just letting herself be seen, but showing herself.

The cover’s composition, its posing combined with the color palette trio of deep browns, subtle creams, and soft reds, evokes an intimate feel before we even hear the subject’s voice; which, thanks to tasteful and cohesive production, remains in focus across the fifteen track album. The sonic palette throughout is similarly sensual: smokey rhodes and horns, smooth synths and soulful samples, bass and drums driving, but never overdone.

Regardless of the genre presented, of which there are multiple on this album - r&b, trap, dance - K.O.’s vocal stylings are reminiscent of a dimly lit lounge, late night; her, under the spotlight center stage, always the star of her own show, approaching every phrase with a calm confidence that both eases and allures.

A simpler term would be finesse; as she not only shifts effortlessly between rapping and singing, but often blends methods, utilizing the rhythmic structures and semantic set-ups of rap, with the melodic phrasing and pay-offs of singing.

This stylization shines on tracks such as “Doin Too Much”, with its sultry slow-grind beat, and “One of One”, an intimate track where K.O. expresses herself with a distinctive directness; here she admits she’s not the type for “too many words”, but relays a feeling as eloquently as any poet when she says, “I don’t like a lot of shit, but I fuck with you.”

In fact, the thirty-five minute runtime reveals K.O. opening up quite a bit, exploring and expressing thoughts on several aspects of relationships — sexual, yes, but also equally (and sometimes more) intimate aspects such as companionship, trust, and vulnerability.

As on the cover art, we see touches of this vulnerability all over; in playful melodies mingled with slick brags on “Superbad”, confessing, “Super bad bitch, but I get that all the time now… Usually I’m shy, but tonight I’ll let my walls down”; straightforward and soul-bearing on “Then There’s You”; and even in the first salvo of bars on “Opening Ceremony”, where K.O. raps about her “momma losing her mind off them prescription pills”, among other insights about her life.

Though the majority of the arrangements on this project lean closer to moody r&b than her usual focus of glossy and brash hip-hop, there is still plenty of solid rapping here (and no shortage of bars); as K.O. proves her pen is still sharp, and perhaps more versatile as she continues to broaden her stylistic approach, refine her technical skills, and solidify her identity.

What does it take to improve? Well, in part, vulnerability; to admit your flaws, acknowledge weaknesses, submit yourself to feedback, etc. So then, what does it take to vulnerable? Confidence; as we’ve said, something K.O. exudes in spades.

It’s the alignment and alliance of these two emotions - vulnerability and confidence - that forms the foundation for It’s Not You, It’s Me, and leads K.O. to find new depths of expression even after many years as an artist. “I kept it way too humble, I should step it up / Bitches think they on my level, they ain’t done enough,” she pens on “Introspective”.

Roundup Rundown features standout singles, EP’s, or albums from the latest edition of Release Roundup - CLM’s monthly catalogue covering music in and around Oklahoma. Selections and writing by Roundup curator David Joachims.

Go here for the full list of releases from October 2023.