On
Oxxxes, the second album from the Baltimore wireless math rock threesome with no bass player, the band continues their blistering instrumental guitar assault and, unfortunately, still cannot harness the energy of their live performance. "Half Half & Half" builds blistering monuments, hoping to reach the pinnacle of their heroes,
Don Caballero, but somehow falls short. "Boss Kitty" brings out
Helmet-style riffs as a kitschy call to their obvious early days in metal. What
Oxes love is irony and controversy -- pummeling the crowd and listener with the most abrasive, semi-twisted music they can muster while simultaneously causing a spectacle. Well, just prior to this release, the band generated a false rejected album cover to stir controversy among the indie elite who have come to expect over-the-top antagonism from the band. It's this type of middlebrow conceptualizing that keeps the band from focusing their minds on the music -- but then again, the music might not be their point to begin with. ~ Daphne Carr