4 out of 5

Label: Africantape

Produced by: ?

I was listening to an instrumental rock band recently and quite loving their music, but also unable to quite put my finger (my ear-fingers) on some missing element: some something that prevented the tunes from rising above.

I could spend some time poorly articulating what that something might be, but whatever it exactly is: Oxes have it. And I say that as someone mixed on some of their releases – which can feel disruptive just for the sake of being so – but wholly respectful of their shtick, which seems “all in” on their music. Which isn’t to suggest the unnamed band I started with isn’t passionate or skilled, more that some line gets crossed when you’re making a record sound cool versus making a record because; this is the difference between For Respect and Don Caballero 2.

Anyway: Oxes had “it,” and even when they disappeared for five years and returned with a sudden slew of singles and EPs in 2011, they still had it, maybe even moreso – distilled down to one song, the group blows most modern day acts away, doing their kind of marching / rolling punk rock combo on Orange Jewelryist in a retroactively prototypical way: this song defined the playful Oxes approach, and wouldn’t have been out of place on any release, while simultaneously making sense as a latter-year statement.

This single fills up its remaining space acceptably, with a radio edit of the song actually tightening it up in a way that makes for a good comparative listen, and an uncheesy remix (“Teils And Reflected Necklaces Remix” by Nathia Scatola) that renders the material anew. Only the deconstructionist Kvltj Bükem Remix by Cex feels like filler, but that’s also maybe exactly its purpose, so you get your 45 RPMs’ worth.