Search - Oxford Collapse :: Some Wilderness

Dance music played by punk rockers

R. Picciotto | 07/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Oxford Collapse plays the sounds of the suburbs, the blue print of early summer, hopped up on candy scarfed down at bar mitzvah blowouts, at the batting cages, sneaking around all day at the multiplex, then turfing the neighbor's lawn on a riding mower for good measure. They flip over big flat rocks and gaze fascinated at the insects living a private life beneath. They know that the devils and the details don't need one another to get by, and demonstrate that with some of the wildest manic pop abandon heard in years.

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Post-punk promise premiered by precocious progeny

John L Murphy | Los Angeles | 07/07/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Mission of Burma inspires here its devoted aural offspring, who introduce a similarly danceable if a bit more groovy beat, while the yammering vocals and guitar staccato recall Oxford Collapse's interest in mixing the current NYC post-punk revival into its earlier Boston influences, going back to the late 70s East Coast new-wave/no-wave experimentalists. For those of us who were around then, this album may not seem that innovative, but for those of you who weren't, or want to recall it all again, then "Some Wilderness" satisfies.



I can hear what appears to be tape manipulation, or its imitation, and the sonic expansion of this buzzing, restless, impatiently jittery sound, after 25 years of its debut, takes advantage of the martial rhythms, vaguely robotic/reggaeish riffs, hardcore-ish commands, call-and-response anthems, and headlong freneticism that all deserve continutity. The album is well-sequenced, and like MoB, the band knows how to break up the relentless assault in favor of more wistful tunes (by comparison--even these aren't exactly midtempo adult alternative fodder), now and then. Great song titles, even if it's a bit hard to discern their content. Vocals are serviceable if not distinctive, and they fit into the atmosphere. Tunes do not overstay their welcome, and the band punches its power into the three-minute type of rallying song. This approach shows they have studied their forebears; I think they might better stretch out into longer attempts at perpetuating their assault into more extended pieces, as they have the intelligence to create these.



On future releases, they should evolve into an even more individual band. I look forward to their July 2005 second album, "A Good Ground" which I bought unheard based on the strength of this debut."