Klamz creates the ultimate rock EP, complete with punk attitude, raw energy, and musical spontaneity.

A message from the Make Oklahoma Weirder team: this article was originally written by Evan Jarvicks in 2019 and is being released as part of MOW’s “VVeirder VVinter Vault” of 2023.

When a great no-frills rock and roll record comes along, critics are often quick to attribute it to the proverbial lightning in a bottle. A group of musicians comes together at just the right time in their lives at the right point in history with the right instincts to assemble a fierce and organic album that goes on to become a classic. 

It would be easy to assign the same ideas to the debut EP from Klamz, a favorite of the Oklahoma City bar scene. Smoke is a crackerjack blaze of bad-boy fun crammed into 12 gratifying minutes. Punk attitude, catchy melodies, and full-throttle performances combine to deliver quickie songs about hot girls, junk food, and bad decisions. It’s a wild ride that hits all the right notes.

Calling something lightning in a bottle, though, is a bit lazy. It inherently writes off some of the band’s efforts. Perhaps when a new project lands in a critic’s hands, it seems like an overnight development, but local fans are bound to know better.

Klamz has been a band for years now, fine-tuning its style and material on stage in front of thousands. It could have scraped together some early demos at any point, but the rock trio held out. When the band was ready to hit the studio, it was no overnight affair, either.

The recordings here are no doubt fabulous at capturing the rowdy, energetic performances, but it balances that raw spontaneity with measured artistic choices on the front end and thoughtful mixing on the back. Even at a brief four tracks, Smoke is a labor of love.

Some listeners might be quick to judge the humor-laced songs, barely veiling their double entendres, but it’s worth enticing these eye-rollers to pay attention. The songs here are well-written with smart instrumental bridges and quotable quips aplenty. The latter includes the enamored “I think my therapist is wrong about you” on “Phone Sex” and the chorus on “Hate”, to name just a couple.

There’s also something charmingly old school about Smoke. While adult webcams are all the current rage, “Phone Sex” lives in the 90s. When scream-heavy emo and hardcore metal are filling the role that punk used to occupy, Klamz’s angriest number, “Hate”, is unapologetically melodic and upbeat.

The band knows its die-hard thirtysomething audience, and it delivers in spades from its ripped denim vibe to its cigarette pack cassette tape packaging. Smoke is wicked good fun and one of the best rock records of the year.