Oxbow

The Narcotic Story

[4/5] You may shudder; you may smile nervously; but you don’t walk away from an Oxbow performance without feeling something. And while you can thank frontman Eugene Robinson-a 200-plus-pound mass of tattooed, street-fighter id who routinely strips naked (literally and psychologically) over the course of any given set-for some of what you may be “feeling,” the band’s music also has a way of getting under your skin and itching. A noise-damaged art-blues powerhouse with the force of a turbine engine and the spatial consideration of a Bartók quartet, Oxbow have been refining their idiosyncratic attack since 1990; and on The Narcotic Story, they cut deeper and sound more relevant than any band this long in the tooth have a right to. Robinson, as always, doesn’t sing so much as he negotiates and pummels the spaces between notes; and while he’s got incredible backing in guitarist Niko Wenner and the alternately spacious and explosive rhythm section of Dan Adams (bass) and Greg Davis (drums), Robinson also finds added dramatic support in piano and strings (see the harrowing “Down A Stair Backward” and “Frank’s Frolic”). Though it clocks in at 45 minutes, The Narcotic Story may feel longer for less-patient listeners, thanks to the quiet expanses and seeming false endings Oxbow use to build toward a climax (see the album standout “A Winner Every Time”). But the payoff is worth waiting for-even if the terror behind it translates better in the live arena, where fast-forwarding is not an option. (HYDRA HEAD) Aaron Burgess

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