Oxbow was a long-lived avant-garde band formed in 1988 in San Francisco, California that was notable for their prolific touring, experimental approach to noise rock, and vocalist Eugene Robinson's high-pitched and anguished voice. Oxbow played a blend of noise rock, avant-garde jazz, musique concrète , and blues,… Read moreShow less
Oxbow was a long-lived avant-garde band formed in 1988 in San Francisco, California that was notable for their prolific touring, experimental approach to noise rock, and vocalist Eugene Robinson's high-pitched and anguished voice. Oxbow played a blend of noise rock, avant-garde jazz, musique concrète , and blues, creating soundscapes caustic, or plangent, with overtones of paranoia, revulsion, and exaltation.
The first album in 1989 combining the squall of bands like The Birthday Party with elements of free jazz and musique concrète, Fuckfest, met with international success and created a small but loyal following that has grown ever since.
This was followed in 1992 by King of the Jews featuring guest vocals from [ artist]Lydia Lunch, as well as the menacing The Balls in the Great Meat Grinder Collection. After 1995's Let Me Be a Woman, Oxbow signed to the SST label for 1997's Serenade in Red, which featured guest vocals from Marianne Faithfull, both albums produced by Steve Albini.
They released a split EP with the Italian band White Tornado in 1999, followed by An Evil Heat in 2002. The compilation [ album artist=Oxbow]Love That's Last: A Wholly Hypnographic and Disturbing Work Regarding Oxbow arrived in 2006. Following this was 2007's [ album artist=Oxbow]The Narcotic Story, 2009's [ album artist=Oxbow]Songs for the French EP, and 2017's [ album artist=Oxbow]Thin Black Duke. 2022 saw the release of the live album [ album artist=Oxbow]An Eternal Reminder of Not Today - Live at Moers, a collaboration with legendary free jazz musician [ artist]Peter Brötzmann. Their eighth and final album [ album artist=Oxbow]Love's Holiday released in 2023.
On July 7, 2024, Robinson departed from Oxbow.
Final line-up:
Eugene S. Robinson - vocals, lyrics
Niko Wenner - guitars, keyboards
Dan Adams - bass guitar
Greg Davis - drums, percussion.
Former members:
Tom Dobrov - drums (1988 to 1995)
