The other day I asked my friend what comes to mind when she thinks of Oklahoma. Her answer - The Wizard of Oz and Texas. I get it, I’m from Oklahoma, answers like this are frighteningly common. Let me give you a reason to get Oklahoma on your radar - Sports. I don’t mean football or basketball, I’m talking about the music group “Sports”. Sports is three man band started by Cale Chronister, Christian Theriot, and Jacob Theriot. The trio has taken a creatively distinct approach to accomplishing a retro vibe, putting a vintage spin on modern music. They have a remastered oldie kind of sound, and if you dig on that, their first LP Naked All the Time has the 80s written all over it.
The first thing that might catch your eye is the album artwork. I’m not one to judge a book, but the setting of the cover art matches the feel of the music perfectly. Aesthetically, it is reminiscent of a scene from a coming-of-age film, which pairs well with the fact that the album is incredibly cinematic, every song painting an intense mental image that will have you thinking “I swear I’ve seen this movie before”.
What’s more, it’s a movie with a good plot. Naked All the Time is practically the diary of a poetic, lovelorn sixteen year-old read to warm, dreamy beats. It is a story of admiration and longing with a youthful, hot-summer-nights sound that will take you back to high school. The whole album is sexy without being sexual, sweet without being sappy, and gaping without being gooey. Sports dips their toes into the abstract while avoiding submerging into something that is beyond understanding, which makes their music simultaneously mysterious and relatable.
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You’ll get the schoolboy crush vibe right off the first track “You Are the Right One”, and the innocence behind the lyrics is incredibly refreshing. The narrator is clearly an idealist, and he lacks a certain forcefulness that is oddly intrinsic to most romantic encounters. He’s simply reveling in the object of his affection from afar, wondering how he can make her realize that she’s perfect for him. The second song “Feels Like Magic” reveals a little bit more about the crush. The admirer doesn’t know much about her, but he thinks he loves her just from looking at her. It’s that love-at-first-sight feeling that makes us empathize with the way he sees someone and envisions an entire future with them. “Oh please don't tell me the truth, If I'm just dreaming of you” captures his fraught yearning for her, and he cannot entertain heartache from rejection - he would rather be blind to what’s going on in her head. The explosiveness of the track’s sound enhances the sensory experience as well, with heavy vintage synths that drop into hard-hitting classic electric guitar delays, like a heatwave of emotions.
The album cools off a bit with “Dina” and “Dalton’s Wish”, the third and fourth songs respectively. “Dina” has a chill energy that serves as an idyllic backdrop for the theme of the track. The lyrics can either be interpreted as a daydream of what this relationship could look like, or a memory of what ended up happening between the two. Either way, he is thinking back on moments they shared together that “made the suburb life feel like paradise”. He wants to know her more, protect her again, and be part of the reason she’s happy...and hates that he can’t. The track’s overall poignance conflicts with its sweet sound, which serves to represent his bittersweet state. “Dalton’s Wish” is essentially the sequel to “Dina”. The first time I really listened to this song, I was in Colorado, floating in a hot tub, by myself, at night, mountains surrounding me. Let me tell you, it hit different. Still when I listen to “Dalton’s Wish”, the steady beats and freestyled fingerpicks evaporate into a dense air that lingers over the song, and I fall in love with the sound all over again every time. The lyrics further elaborate on the admirer’s longing. He spends the last minute of the track repeating the line “You’re the only thing”, driving his feelings to a dead end. These four words say it all, and he needs no other explanation. She’s the only thing, and that’s it. Easily the most sublime track, “Dalton’s Wish” is milk and honey, sweet and thick and providing every imaginable sense of nostalgia and desire.
The remainder of the album continues the story of unrequited love, with why’s and how’s that are glossed in wants and wishes. “Panama” is the vivacious and lighthearted climax, when the admirer continues his pining but just wants to be alone. “Panama” is Sports’ most popular song, and serves a sort of comedic relief as the admirer entertains the idea of running away to Panama.
“Naked” is a two minute minimalist instrumental that lacks a defined melody, but somehow paints a picture with a story that the listener is left to determine. Personally, I envision “Naked” as a song about aimless wandering, like when you go on a walk and have no idea where you’re heading. For someone else, it might be the sound of staring off into space, or writing a poem. The beauty of interludes is that they are subjective to the listener, allowing you to take a break from analyzing and simply be part of the album. “Naked” is a breath between journal entries.
Then comes the dessert - “Strange to Hear” and “Night Swim”. Rich and decadent, they melt
when you cut into them and contribute to the undercover, subtle sensuality that is at the core of the album. Low, slow saxophone and guitar riffs in “Strange to Hear” are indicative of the admirer’s passivity. He is dragging his feet with his decision to simply wait on the sidelines for her love, aware that this will probably lead him to nothing. “Night Swim” captures the feeling of being romantic with yourself, when everything is quiet and you can marinate in your thoughts and emotions. In this particular instance, the admirer is swimming alone in the dark, paying specific attention to his surroundings - the water, the starlight, the reflections. It is a serene but smoldering moment that serves as an open-ended conclusion: “I thought that I would never change, but I change for you”.
Naked All the Time is the soundtrack of a lost and forgotten John Hughes movie. The raw emotion and adolescent passion behind each song creates a clear cut narrative that requires no visuals for the listener to conjure up a mental image. Sports’ ability to recreate the past intricately is unmatched, both sonically and lyrically. If you’re looking for a serious dose of sentiment, give this album a shot. P.S. Oklahoma is the one shaped like a pan.
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