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Oxford Collapse is uncommonly muscular for this type of band, rather like Les Savy Fav by way of R.E.M., and they’re most engaging when flexing this muscle
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Alternative PressOxford Collapse cruise effortlessly from shoegazey dream pop to classic college rock to Schilitz-soaked Americana. [Sep 2008, p.150]
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When Oxford Collapse pull off the throttle, the results are remarkable, and the songs are perfect for soundtracking the nights the band can’t remember.
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Bits is streaked with irreverence, whether for C&W formality (the intuitively simple melodies of 'Featherbeds' and 'Young Love Delivers'), instrumental tightness (at times, they can make No Age sound like the Famous Flames) or lyrical artifice.
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The Brooklyn boys maintain their hipster sensibilities and flip between speedy grit and sweetheart pop, with varied results.
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if you like holey-jeans music, BITS is quite good--singer Michael Pace has a great indie-rock croak, and when these guys are loud, there's no stopping them.
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Oxford Collapse reportedly wrote 30 songs for this record, keeping most of them short and not finishing the lyrics on many until right before they were put to tape. That would explain the more straightforward feel of BITS, and why the band can't quite match the heady, smart-acre highs of "Remember the Night Parties."
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So, about 25 minutes into their fourth album, when Dan Fetherston's martial drums and Adam Rizer and Michael Pace's choral vocals begin the slow rumble of 'Children's Crusade,' the moment feels as revelatory as it is cathartic--Arcade Fire–size elation, without the uniforms and all the friggin' people.
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Under The RadarThese over-sugared shape shifters don't particularly have much to say, but they sure have a blast not saying it. [Fall 2008, p.82]
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Like so many of their generic contemporaries, Oxford Collapse reside firmly in the moment.
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Overall, though, there's a lack of memorability tarring this CD. Very few of the songs sound familiar even after repeated listenings.