Coalesce – OXEP
released November 10, 2009 on Relapse Records
How do you follow one of the greatest comeback albums of 2009? Release a daring companion piece five months later! Much like OX, it demands attention on both a sonic level and via lyrical interpretation.
Daring us to delve within and explore our tainted selves, its introspective nature is disguised by the visceral impact of the music itself. I was most pleased to hear the return of the lowly western strums – present heavily in “Joyless In Life” and “Absent In Death” – emanating pensive despair that culminates most powerfully in the latter, when the heaviness returns to punctuate the acoustic beginning. Pay attention to skinsman Nathan Richardson (you’re kinda forced to!), whose resonant percussion is a highlight on every track.
This is an excellent expansive addition to OX, their first output in a decade, further exploring the fresh territory blazed this summer. There is no doubt in my mind that Coalesce is here to stay.
1 & 7 function more as an intro and outro, respectively, rather than full songs.
FCC OK
Try 2, 4, 6
01. Oxe To Ore
02. The Blind Eye
03. Joyless In Life
04. To My Ruin
05. Absent In Death
06. Through Sparrows I Rest
07. Ore To Earth
Rating: 
You can also check out my Coalesce – OX review HERE
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