Chris DeLine

The post punk indie that seems to have been pushed to the back of the line by the cool kids finds itself fighting back in form of the Oxford Collapse. The melodic, bass driven lines, shattered by spurts of shrieking guitar are reminiscent of a time when it was first becoming cool to stop the circle pit and relax, stop the shoving and dance at your own pace. Intensified by the often sweetly-sour vocals, tracks like “Last American Virgin” leave a thick, guitar driven resonance aching in the back of your head. “If It Dies In Peoria…”, offers a variation to the sound; reminiscent of a slightly more mature indie-punk. The abrasiveness detours into the suburban, afternoon listening session sound which is characteristic of the band. Without sacrificing their position in modern rock, the Oxford Collapse have fundamentally come off sounding as though they belong not in the SXSW music festival, but opening for The Minutemen.

[This post was first published by Culture Bully.]