| Ug-ly
(uhg-lee) –adjective- very unattractive
to look at, disagreeable, morally revolting, oxbow
Oxbow
specialise in a grotesque circus act set to a dark, swampy melodic
drone. They have always polarised opinion, never sitting comfortably
in the hearts of metalheads, art-rockers, or noise-warriors. The
Narcotic Story is their latest effort, a relatively short (45m)
9 tracker which is the opening album for a planned trilogy. Right
from the post-intro opener, “The Geometry of Business”,
Oxbow set the scene for the rest of the album. Eugene Robinson’s
inhuman mutterings, growls, screeches and gibberish are unusually
restrained (though nevertheless unsettling) and are underpinned
with an expanded multi-instrument line up which is used to carve
a rather rocking yet menancingly melodic soundscape.
The Narcotic Story is Oxbow’s lightest and most airy album
yet. Instead of rehashing the dark, droney, drawn out dirges of
yester-year, Oxbow replace the rainforest swamps for the light
at the end of the tunnel. Sumptuously crafted, shimmering guitar
melodies which hang heavy in the humid air, collide refreshingly
with ebbing bass and drumwork which has an almost tribal feel
to it. Cello’s, Violin, Piano and Organ contribute to the
richer sonic palette whilst the work of Grammy winning producer,
Joe Chiccarelli, adds depth and dimension to an album which could
have easily been ruined by tinny production values.
This album is far more ‘rawk-in-roll’ focused than
previous efforts, with a heavy bluesy, bar-room brawl quality
to it, just witness ‘Down a Strip Backward’. The dark,
drunken melodies recall the sumptuous and emotional work of Love
Life, The Celebration and (especially) The Enablers. Whereas previously,
listeners where drowned in a distorted assemblage of crust and
grime, they are now given room to breathe with gentle lilting
lullabies. Ok, so they are not lullabies in the traditional sense,
more like, anti-lullabies fronted by a desperate and suicidal
manic who has finally come to terms with his ailments, but in
the context of Oxbow, they can be classed as lullabies. Track’s
like ‘She’s a Find’ are perfect examples of
this and possess a magical twinkling quality (due mainly to the
addition of new instruments) which achieves perfect harmony with
a subtle yet stirring disquiet which underpin’s the track.
The downside of this album is its stringent consistency. Tracks
do have the tendency to merge into each other and unfortunately,
Oxbow fail to create a ‘spark’ which would set this
album alight, and the melodic passages, although impressive, never
leave a lasting impression. I (personally) feel that The Narcotic
Story ends on a high point with the track ‘Its the Giving
Not the Taking...’, a dirgey shanty which starts off with
Fat Boy Slim’s ‘Song For Shelter’ melody which
was used so effectively and downright emotionally in Larry Clark’s
excellent ‘Bully’ film. Robinson’s singing ability
in this track would seriously distress Simon Cowell but it is
delivered with such heart and emotion, and is underpinned expertly
with dark organ soundscapes which explode into slowly drawn out
but monumentally heavy riffage and out of tune, truncated post-punk
melodies reminiscent of early Converge.
This is an album to listen to whilst driving home in a convertible,
on a sunny day, after a messy and (potentially fatal) break-up
with your ex-lover. (KS)
For
fans of: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, The Enablers, Love Life,
The Celebration, Steve Von Till
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