Oxes

12/'05

I was raised to love the guitar. Ever since I heard Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” for the first time, I’ve been absolutely obsessed with the instrument. The variety of sounds it can make (whether acoustic or electric) is absolutely incredible. My obsession has reared its head in several forms. I taught myself to play guitar when I was ten, then started taking lessons for a few years when I was twelve, then started my first band when I was fifteen. I started writing my own music shortly after. Being in bands has definitely opened my eyes to several musical acts, but nothing could have prepared me for Oxes.
Oxes is a three-piece, instrumental, “technical” guitar-rock band. The description sounds lofty, but it is the only way to describe their music. The group relies heavily on their two guitars (no bass player, as seems to be ‘required’ amongst their musical piers), the explosive production of their records, their outstanding live performances, the intense dynamics of their music and their
ever-changing rhythms.
The band is no more than five years old, based out of Baltimore, Maryland. The members of Oxes are: Nettarino Fowler (guitar), Marco Mirror (guitar), and Han Sum (drums). Obviously, these are not their real names, and this type of cheesy shtick is exactly what Oxes as a group endorse- expertly shown through their album artwork and their live performances.
Musically, they are completely original. Though, they are not without their influences. Mainly drawing from early heavy metal from the 70’s like Black Sabbath and Rush; mixing in a bit of the attitude of metal in the 80’s like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden; and then adding a perplexing technical twist from ‘post-punk’ bands in the 90’s like Fugazi and Drive Like Jehu. All of that with no vocal accompaniment.
The meter of most Oxes songs is based off of a 4/4 beat that gets twisted around into becoming anywhere from ¾ to 5/4. The overall timbre of the music could best be described as thick or muddy. The guitar tone is obviously very important to the sound of their records. They mix the higher tones to be extremely sharp, and the lows very crunchy. They dabble with guitar peddles on their second LP, (titled Oxxxes) but mainly stick to straight-forward electric guitar. On their most recent EP they have used
synthesizers and MIDI technology to produce electronic interludes.
Another reason I am so interested in this band is that before I discovered my love of guitar, I was a self-taught drummer. Never before have I heard a drummer so evenly-matched to their electric guitar accompaniment as Han Sum of Oxes. He regularly syncopates the normal beat back and forth between the up and downbeat. I did not fully respect how much weight he pulls in the band until I saw them live last year. While the two guitarists use wireless technology that actually allowed them to run around the club while playing, Han Sum served as the anchor for the group, remaining on stage and pounding away.
The two guitars are rarely ever playing the same thing; hence Oxes is a very polyphonic group. Though they are instrumental, both of the guitars more than make up for the lack of vocal melody. Indeed, the guitars often imitate beautiful vocal melodies with harmonies. The group’s range is wide, often straying to more of a dissonant sound, made by lower notes on the guitar and a chaotic, yet contained strumming technique.
Along with their occasional electronic interlude, Oxes will frequently overdub acoustic guitars into their songs. Often placed in awkwardly, playing a riff quietly, allowing
the drums to follow until it is almost completely silent, then exploding into an electric guitar-fueled cacophony. This change in dynamic is one that we’ve heard before in Classical and Romantic music.
Guitar-technology is also a very important part to Oxes’ sound. When I saw them live I noticed that the guitarist Marco Mirror was playing a type of guitar I had never seen before. I had always noticed that Oxes had a unique guitar sound, but only after a friend of mine talked with Marco after their performance did I discover what it was. Whereas most electric guitars are wooden, Marco plays out of an aluminum guitar. The result is a much more twangy, metallic sound. One can actually feel the pressure of the pick hitting the strings through the guitar’s pick-ups. It is a revolutionary technology that has yet to really break through into the world of electric guitar. It was designed and custom-made for Marco by one of the members of the band New Brutalism (who have a similar sound to Oxes).
I chose this band because I thought they were an excellent example of pure music. They are the complete opposite of ‘pop.’ They aren’t doing what they do to make money or impress anyone. They are making music the way they want to because they love it for what it is.