Wichita Falls is a gutter-pop band from the Chatham County side of Chapel Hill, NC, that stands up for broken bottles and bad attitudes everywhere. The group has a rotating lineup centered around multi-instrumentalist producer, Will Clinton and collaborator, percussionist Brad Porter. Last year the two self released their first EP, ...and the Bad Blood, which garnered them spots at CMJ, The Carrboro Block Party, and Ra- leigh’s Hopscotch Music Festival. Wichita Falls is back with an off-kilter full length, ...and the Dark Vibrations, boasting appearances from: Kym Register (Loamlands), Rachel Hirsh (IWTDI), Betsy Shane (Pink Flag), Chloe Gude (Rogue Band of Youth), and Jack Hartley (Rogue Band of Youth). The songs still have their bursts and fits soaked in fuzz and reverb, but this time around, Wichita Falls has slowed down a bit. ...and the Dark Vibrations brings a more lush, full composition with a greater sense of space. Clinton, is starting to show more depth of influence and also that he may know more than just 3 major chords on the guitar. The cohesion between Clinton and Porters playing has come a long way since ...and the Bad Blood, and they have ex- tended past their original pop diagnosis. The introductory track, “Straight Down,” sees Clinton abandoning the guitar and referencing the Murder Ballads of Sodom, NC, that he has encountered as a sound engineer. Tracks like, “Friends and Family,” and “Naugahyde,” see the group out of their comfort zone and lost somewhere in the countryside. Knowing them unfortunately makes it impossible to say that their sound is maturing. You can still catch their shimmery fuzz on, “Lose It,” “Out for Love,” and “Before I Heard.” Wichita Falls’ growing flexibility is allowing for Porter to show his versatility as a drummer, and Clinton to come into his own as a singer and writer. Lyrically Clinton’s stream of consciousness song writing, drops listeners into the middle of a scene or fractured memory without providing any of the context or details to under- stand exactly what is going on. It’s like only being allowed to read a few sentences of each chapter of a book, and being left to figure out the rest, and fill in the details for yourself. Clinton’s songs manage to strike a strange balance of ex- posed and vague, with a delivery that varies from a whisper to a howl. His writing most clearly parallels the work of Modest Mouse, while maintaining a voice all of his own. ...and the Dark Vibrations, was largely written, recorded, and mixed at home by Clinton in the Winter of 2013. Clinton and Porter, didn’t allow time to second-guess their work. They seem to have focused more on maintaining the sound of the space where the songs were crafted, in this moody effort. ...and the Dark Vibrations is being released, digitally, by Durham independent label, Potluck on April 1st, 2014.