Tulsa's celestial songsmiths of rock and roll take shelter on final lead single ahead of its debut LP
When a rock band such as The Odyssey looks toward the heavens, it follows in a timeless tradition of man. Like its ancient namesake, the Tulsa quintet is on a journey of discovery, both of the self and the universe. Winding through the peaks and valleys of life, The Odyssey frequently weighs its experiences on a scale of constellations to distill and supercharge their conclusions.
Following 2019’s thunderous debut EP, Stormcoming, the band has been trickling a stream of new singles in anticipation of a full-length album, expected to at last release later this year. Where the EP kickstarted with a strong wave of blues rock lightning, cooling off with more atmospheric indie showers in its latter half, the immediate tracks that followed dabbled in funk. “Fresh Air” in particular makes stellar use of its rhythm bass and guitar.
In the ensuing pandemic years, though, the group’s fiery rock ‘n roll found refuge in “I Want You” and “Breakout”, boasting a style not unlike The Black Keys. The Odyssey’s iconic orange spacesuits made its debut during this period, suggesting that its artistic journey was no longer one of terrestrial stargazing but rather one of interstellar aeronautics.
Today, on the cusp of its first LP, the band releases “The Sky is Falling”, the latest burning orb encountered in its expedition. Stream it now in this Make Oklahoma Weirder exclusive press premiere.
Off the bat, the new single makes it known that it comes from a quieter place than its predecessors with naked acoustic guitar and soft-string atmospherics. Electric guitars both hearty and howling creep in to foreshadow the gear-shift dynamics of the song structure before dipping back out for its first soul-searching verse.
The lyrics ponder loss and defeat, debating in an inner dialogue about the source and legacy of such inevitabilities. Some losses are only temporary. Some defeats come from simply giving up. The metaphor at the heart of this song, a falling sky, has a variety of connotations, from Chicken Little alarmism to outright worldending. However, “The Sky is Falling” pushes away these extremes by its conclusion, which reveals the intensity as a passing storm in an inspired turn of uplifting vocal layers and healing rainfall.
The storm imagery, while in keeping with the band’s muse of weather-related symbolism, comes from a literal place. Lead songwriter Cobey Brown devised the concept while taking shelter in a Sand Springs tornado warning. Huddled in a hallway at 2 AM with his family and a guitar, he strummed as the sirens wailed outside, waiting for further instruction from the weatherman. It is from this realm of limbo that the song grew, acknowledging the insecurity of tornadic threats while knowing that, as a rule, all things pass.
When the final leg of “The Sky is Falling” calms itself, its brevity is intentional. It leaves all guitars and drums behind, signifying a moment of transition, a clear landing dusting itself off from the fall. As it pulls out its compass for the next season of life, it trails off, letting listeners imagine for themselves where The Odyssey will lead them next.
In celebration of the new single, The Odyssey is holding its Annual End of Summer Bash next weekend in both OKC and Tulsa.
On Friday, August 12th, the band plays Ponyboy with The Flycatchers. Doors are at 7 PM, show is at 8 PM, and admission to the 21+ venue is $7.
On Saturday, August 13th, the band plays The Vanguard with Future Tapes, The Flycatchers, and Babies on a Halfpipe. Doors are at 7 PM, show is at 8 PM, and admission to the all-ages venue is $15.
aka Jarvix, the Chief Executive Weirdo of Make Oklahoma Weirder. His out-of-the-box music coverage has been published by the Oklahoma Gazette, KOSU, and The Oklahoman among others. He also makes DIY music as a solo multi-instrumentalist live looper in his spare time.