5 Bands You Will LOVE

Bands

It is Valentine’s day, and before you singles start moaning, think of it more as a day to celebrate love in general, even if you don’t have someone in your life. You can love a lot of things, and if you read this blog, you probably love music! I’ve scoured our local music-scape to find 5 bands you may not have heard of. Want to impress your girlfriend/indie-record-store-girl/boyfriend/single-lead-guitarist-of-your-fave-band? Put any of these artists on a mixtape and you will be exalted.

Samantha Crain and The Midnight Shivers– Samantha has gained quite a bit of notoriety around the country within the Indie/Gospel revival movement, but for some reason Tulsa hasn’t gotten privy to her. Samantha’s song-writing will transport you to another era, a black and white picture of a (sometimes)  romanticized South. Full of wistful narratives and dusty spirituals, Samantha’s got the right idea. Her albums are available on iTunes. Mixtape Pick: Rising Sun

Fiawna Forte– Ok, well, maybe you have heard of her. The Gospel of Fiawna has traveled far and wide. She played our blog launch show on the 6th, and the pictures of her alone are enough to make you swoon. Fiawna and her band have found the holy grail: chemistry, dynamics, charisma, and a lead singer you want to take home to mom–but only if your mom is into Janis Joplin and Jack Daniels. Mixtape Pick: I’d Rather Die

Pillotalk– Broken Arrow crooners Seth Harcrow, Nikolai Datsko, and David Warwick certainly are smooth. With complicated guitar harmonics, acoustic/electric pairing and cymbal heavy drum beats, they make very difficult musical endeavors look, and sound easy. Comparisons to Snow Patrol and Iron & Wine are easy to draw. Mixtape Pick: Away With Me

Low Litas–Mandii Larsen is responsible for Low Litas, which is remarkable in itself. To think that one person could create all the sounds you hear in Low Litas music is mind-blowing. I hear something new every time I listen. At the core, Low Litas is a girl singing about love and loss. Piled on are heavy vocal effects, sound effects, harmonicas, guitars and a number of other things. Listening to Low Litas is like finding someone else’s love letters. As you uncrumple the music, you begin to live vicariously through the protagonist. She lets you in, and you root for her. Mixtape Pick: Closer, but No Good For You is pure poetry.

The Lava Children–Featured on NPR last lear, The Lava Children are one of Tulsa’s best kept secrets. They don’t play often, but their Self Titled EP is available on iTunes. If you purchase this EP, you can expect to hear Joanna Newsom-esque vocals, heavy basses and lots of electro elements. The sound is layered and whimsical. The Lava Children manage to combine a childlike fairy tale fantasy with a heavy alternative rock sensibility.  Mixtape pick: I am a Pony

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