Oxbow The Letter
Oxbow
Love That’s Last: A Wholly Hypnographic & Disturbing Work
(Hydra Head)
In their prime, Oxbow were something of a disturbing San Francisco band that may have had something to do with The Jesus Lizard, or maybe the other way around.
This Love That’s Last CD/DVD isn’t really a new effort, but a compilation meant to “reintroduce” them to the public. Featuring both studio and off-the-cuff recordings, the intent is to estimate Oxbow’s unpredictability, and for the most part it succeeds. Opening with “Insylum,” feedback squalls and a stomping, ’60s acid blues beat set a basic tone of inmates at play. “Is That What Sleep Looks Like?” feels equally narcotic, and as the CD dives back 15 years, you get a sense of how, for lack of a better word, Oxbow have perfected their M.O. Trouble is, M.O. is supposed to be a means for something; wherever they’re headed, they aren’t quite there.
— Steve Forstneger
