The Lunar Laugh

Nighthawks!

Big Stir Records

Though this album starts with two studio tracks, it's mostly live. This long-running Oklahoma City band gives a flavor of what it was like to see them before the pandemic happened. It's a lot of fun to listen to for that reason alone.

The other reason it's fun is that the band was influenced by the early Bangles, and this band is as good as them, especially early on, and on their comeback albums in the oughts. The Lunar Laugh has a similar sound and harmonies, and the the second studio track, “It's Okay,” sounds like it could've been written by Susanna Hoffs.

The two covers, Neil Diamond's “Solitary Man” and Death Cab For Cutie's “Soul Meets Body,” also establish their sound, and it really is a good blend. “Welcome To The World” is superb.

If you want to be reminded of what live music sounded like, get his album, have a good time listening to it, and then go and see them, or any other band, in concert.

Andrea Weiss