Oxbow
Biography
The provocative San Francisco-based quartet Oxbow formed in the late '80s around vocalist Eugene Robinson, guitarist Niko Wenner, bassist Dan Adams and drummer Greg Davis. Combining the squall of bands like the Birthday Party with elements of free jazz and musique concrète, the group debuted in 1990 with Fuckfest, followed in 1992 by King Of The Jews. The menacing The Balls In The Great Meat Grinder Collection also appeared in 1992, combining the first two records on one.
After 1995's Steve Albini-produced Let Me Be A Woman Oxbow signed to the SST label for 1997's Serenade In Red, which featured guest vocals from Marianne Faithfull. They released a split EP with the Italian band White Tornado in 1999, followed by the sub-bluesy An Evil Heat in 2002, this time on Neurot Recordings.
The CD/DVD set Love That's Last: A Wholly Hypnographic And Disturbing Work Regarding Oxbow arrived in 2006 on Hydra Head and compiled a number of tracks culled from compilation appearances, live cuts, and their own back catalogue.
The band returned in 2007 with The Narcotic Story (Hydra Head), another hellish excursion into Eugene Robinson's harrowing stream of consciousness, though this time fully embracing a sort of slow-burning, infernal blues sparser than Oxbow's more metallic styles, and, paradoxically much, much heavier.
This deluxe vinyl pressing of The Narcotic Story is gracefully brought to you via Southern Records' Black Diamond vinyl only imprint.