A recent Goodwin extravaganza at the Wreck Room, which also featured unambitious-but-awesome Haltom City rock monsters the Me-Thinks, was revelatory not only for the headlining band's performance but for the live handiwork of Shade Seven. The quartet of Oklahoma City youngsters bounced around the stage like little protons while blasting out emo-punk thunder, sounding for all the world like a Sooner version of recently disbanded local faves Soviet Space. Frontman Travis Foote displayed an endearing awkwardness while guitarist Andy Hale spun off tortuously melodic lines, even managing some neat tricks with an E-bow (usually an instrument of the devil).

While neither of the last couple of Shade Seven releases completely captures the urgency of the band's live show, both showcase a confident and still-evolving unit. On tracks like Antenna Skyline's emo waltz "Distant Fireworks" and The June Sessions' "Another Car Ride," Foote projects an aching sincerity, and he's guileless enough to pen a line like "It was like Christmas without the lights" (in Skyline's "Redwood"). The June Sessions' "The Brightest Star in My Sky" and "Memory Collection" feature trademark multiple tempo shifts, with clever punctuation from drummer Joe Wertz, while the addition of bassist Mike Rodden for that disc upped the band's Big Rock quotient.

The guys started out with a softer sound back in Y2K, but in the spring of 2002 they scrapped all of their old material and started from scratch with a more hard-edged attack. Last May, they hit the road with a vengeance, doing the DIY living-in-the-van-or-on-the-kindness-of-strangers thang. They've been prolific in the studio, releasing three e.p.'s and a couple of two-song demos. Next, they plan to add another four songs to The June Sessions and start shopping for a label deal. Before they return to the Fort in May, you can score their product from www.shadeseven.com.