As much as I may or may not be completely objective when attempting record reviews, I must admit that this is probably not capable of happening when it comes to Coalesce's new album, Ox. Quite literally ten years in the making, Ox is the band's first new album since 0:12: Revolution in Just Listening and the subject of much anxiety of hardcore Coalesce fans. Will ten years of adulthood change the boys in the band? Will the addition of a new drummer (the band's third) change the band's technical abilities? Frankly, the answers to those questions are met with an acerbic howl and a gut shot to the body of listeners with what might be (in terms of production quality) the best sounding album that Coalesce has released.
One aspect or intangible that Ox contains over any predecessors that is readily apparent is the amount of soul which comes through in the recording, and again, describing this is virtually impossible and one must hear Ox to understand such a statement; rest assured, one listen and this soul will be apparent to the listener. This is not the Coalesce of ten years ago. Ox is the sound of four people making music on their terms because they want to make it and make it loud. Yes, the off kilter rhythms and strange guitar noises are readily apparent, and the bass is as vicious (possibly more so) as ever. But amidst all the songs are new elements that incorporate new tricks and sounds that truly set this record apart.
Like many listeners, my first exposure to any of the songs that make up Ox was "Wild Ox Moan"; and minus the surprising intro, this song kicks in the familiar way that Coalesce is known for warping listeners' minds and ears with strange tempos and punishing sounds (also check opener, "The Plot Against My Love" as well as "Designed to Break a Man" for proof). Many of the songs are on the shorter side as many top out at just around the two minute mark with some even shorter, "The Comedian in Question" is a brutish sub two minute blast of Coalesce in a slower moment with melodic singing in the chorus (yes, Ingram's clean singing has improved, no he has not gone soft at all) and guitars that show some of the groove that the band also shows on 0:12 Revolution in Just Listening.
The lyrics that Sean Ingram so eloquently writes finds shining examples on Ox yet again. Within "The Purveyor of Novelty and Nonsense" he bellows some of the pitfalls of consumerism and possibly questions his participation in the process: "I am a purveyor of bullshit and landfill, and broken dreams
I am in a race to produce things to buy things to eat things to make more things." Ingram may even be dredging up old demons when he screams "We has our own ideas of what righteous was and we staged it in all our minds, it was dishonest and a little bit cheap, but it made the way for our war anthems" in "By What We Refuse" (those who remember the controversies surrounding the original heyday of the band might chuckle and or agree with his words).
The high pitch of the falsetto vocals announcing the beginning "In My Wake, For My Own" are disconcerting to hear but seem to work in context with the rest of the song which tosses its fair share of squealing guitars and impressive, rumbling bass lines as well as some rather excellent background vocals. "Dead is Dead" (visions of a screaming crowd climbing all over each other to scream at Ingram are pretty vivid while working well on recording) and "There is a Word Hidden in the Ground" (the slow churning nature of this track makes for one hell of crushing closer) are brilliant closing tracks as well as two of my personal favorite and for completely different reasons.
Quite possibly the album of the year, Ox may not be perfect, but those imperfections only make the record more enjoyable; the rough edges keep the album from falling into some slick produced parody of what Coalesce was while ruining their "legacy" in the process. Instead, somehow the band gives listeners a poignant album that resonates in the minds of young and middle aged alike (I cannot see my fifty-five year old dad listening to this though, eliminating that demographic
for now) while simultaneously adding new nuances to their music and maintaining some of the hallmarks of the sound which they are so known for making. By no means a cash grabbing reunion album, Ox surely sets a high mark for other albums this year.
