tUCo

Description

Mark Browning likes Neil Young, and why not, most of us do. All previous Ox records have scared up his ghost and this one is no exception, it even starts with a lovely cover of Out on the Weekend which sounds both typically Neil Young and typically Ox at the same time, his/their languid small town sound fits the song perfectly. Midnight on the Island sounds like an outtake from Tonights the Night, the rest of the record contains traces of Young but asserts Brownings own broke-down, dust encrusted version of Americana.
This record is positioned as a soundtrack (I can find no evidence of the film existing) and there are a few tracks of instrumental music that you want to pass quickly so your ears can get back to Brownings laconic drawl which pilots you through the songs like a raconteur/tour-guide with all the best stories.

The song Nico manages to tell her story without lapsing into Velvet Underground cliché. Kate Maki adds vocals on Battlefields which changes the texture (from resignation to hope) which drifts slowly like rustled palm frond sound of the Radar Bros. What Ox at their best do is a kind of junkshop retro Americana mixed with a little indie-rock and Indie Rock Radio Nation perfectly sums up this approach. The medium pace chug of the music and the more animated vocal (along with a gloriously laid back guitar solo) make for an attractive mix. Brownings other great love, automobiles, get a run out with What I Love About Cars, the song are built for cruising and not for speed, they are lazy aimless journeys looking for things a good time whilst realising that the search is the very thing being searched for.

Mark Browning/Ox is a consistent performer; his records never really travel far from his basic premise, the mythology of cars and girls, rock and roll, wide open spaces and Neil Young. His skill is that the template doesnt seem at all limiting, he has endless variations and when the results are like Trans Canada Im always going to be happy to be along for the ride even if I might get into trouble.