Local Review: Quiet Oaks – Almost OK
Local Music Reviews
Quiet Oaks
Almost Ok
Self-Released
Street: 09.01.18
Quiet Oaks = Alabama Shakes + The Rolling Stones
Not your typical rock band that have been born out of SLC, Quiet Oaks have a blues-ish twist on a classic American rock sound. It’s the type of music that makes you crave an outdoor show during a hot summer with beer in hand, swaying to the synced-up strums and tasteful rhythms with people around you just having a great time. It’s no wonder that their tours have been so widespread—one listen and you’ll want to be there in person.
To get into the thick of it, Almost Ok is an EP following the band’s last album release from 2017, Pretty Alright. Despite the group’s hard rock and energetic aesthetic, the lyrics are simple and sweetly agonizing. Almost Ok is another set of breakup songs that verge on anger and happiness. On the opening track, “Never Really Minded,” Dane Sandberg scream-sings, “Could I love you anymore? / My heart would never answer / What the hell are you waiting for? / My heart would never answer.”
The most pop-oriented track on the EP is “Laugh It Up.” It starts with drums only, and a tasteful D6 guitar chord chimes in soon after, moving into a rhythmic pattern where all the shifting elements fit together like puzzle pieces. This is also a heartbreak song, with lyrics such as, “I laugh it up / Every time you bleed.”
Quiet Oaks are a perfect example of how musicians can have such a high sex appeal. These tracks embody those having-a-hard-time lyrics with a nonchalant and energetic sound that has all the girls and boys offering their shoulders to cry on. I hope their next release will be from a “really good” outlook on life, but if a “pretty alright, almost ok” life turns into a discography like this one, then I’m fine with that too.
Give Quiet Oaks a like on Facebook, follow them on Instagram or visit their website, to purchase the EP and view upcoming tour dates. –Mary Culbertson
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