January 22-28, 2004
musicpicks
Oxford Collapse
Rock/pop
It's almost too tempting to play on Oxford Collapse's name -- the Brooklyn trio's debut album, Some Wilderness (Kanine), possesses more than one glorious, twitchy moment where breakdowns will, most assuredly, break out on the dancefloor. But the band's skill, and what makes Some Wilderness one of 2004's standout releases (it comes out April 14), lies in their know-how when it comes to pasting all those pieces back together again. "1991 Kids" is absolutely pummeling, with a spiky guitar line playing off a jumpy bass melody and strangled whoops. And the album-closing mini-epic "Tribal Rights of the New Saturday Night" takes guitars that sound like they were brought to the future by those 1991 kids (so fuzzed-out and chunky, they must have been transported directly from Yoyo Studios) and, ever so gradually, guides them into leading a gleeful, whirling dance party. Six minutes in, you can see the sweat and the wide grin on every partyer's enraptured face, as the band spins to a satisfied, exhilarated halt.
Sun., Jan. 25, 9 p.m., $7, with Juliet, Miro Slav and Red Rocket, The Khyber, 56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888.
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