OXX — The Skeleton Is Just A Coat Hanger; These Are The Black Strings That Make You Dance (review)

OXX — The Skeleton Is Just A Coat Hanger; These Are The Black Strings That Make You Dance album cover Album · 2019 · Mathcore Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Kev Rowland
I must confess to not knowing a great deal about this Danish band apart from they are a trio and I think this is their third full-length album. With a title such as ‘The Skeleton Is Just A Coat Hanger; These Are The Black Strings That Make You Dance’, one expects this to be a little out of the norm and that is certainly the case. I have seen them categorised with different tags, with mathcore and hardcore featuring quite prominently and while they are much more to the former to the latter they are also quite experimental and I would love for someone to call them progressive, so perhaps I will have to be the one to do it. Although in this case we are talking about truly progressing music as opposed to regurgitating Genesis. Massively complex musical threads and time signatures have been woven together to create something powerful which never loses its edge, just like Damascus steel.

There is no room between any of the lines for anything to be inserted, and then the trio take a break to allow a lead guitar break or ask a poor saxophonist to make himself heard above the melee. It is intense, massively over the top, and one can only imagine a performance by these guys must be all-encompassing and also quite short as there is no way they can keep up this level of energy for a significant period of time. Mathcore is being pushed to its very limits here and the listener is quite drained by the end of it, but in a positive manner. It needs to be played loudly, so consequently the gentle melodic break in the middle of the title track (which is not only the final song on the album but also the longest at 5:58) is something of a surprise and shows just how intense and heavy it has been up to that point. 27 minutes, just seven songs, powerful indeed.
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