Phoenix-based THE OXFORD COMA has completed their sophomore album and is preparing it for independent release in the sweltering months ahead, with widespread tour plans coming together surrounding the record’s unveiling.
From the scorching and thriving Southwestern US underground music scene comes the indefinable works of THE OXFORD COMA, an outfit which rides the fine line between rock and metal, experimental and straightforward, and even being a trio or quartet, and which has steadily pumped out a hearty discography of independent releases since their 2011 inception. Powered and endorsed by Orange amps, and drawing from a wide array of influences from across the spectrum of forward-thinking rock artists, bridging the early days and modern times, comparisons to the improvisational prog rock circles of the 1960s and ’70s to premier extreme acts of the 1990s through today, the collective recorded output of this morphing act has drawn assimilations to everything from early Tool to Primus, Radiohead to The Dillinger Escape Plan, Nirvana to Neurosis, King Crimson to Kyuss, and so on.
Through several lineup alterations and sporadic expansions, the usual three-piece bass, guitar and drummer lineup of THE OXFORD COMA at times radically expands for live shows to include a second drummer, delivering their explorative works with even more emphatic bombast. Speaking of recordings, the band’s Morphine EP spent 6 weeks on CMJ’s Loud Rock chart’s top 40 alongside the likes of Mastodon and Black Sabbath and brought in positive review in dozens of noteworthy and respected print and online media outlets. And in the live setting, THE OXFORD COMA has opened for national acts including Fear Factory, Soulfly and others, in addition to countless regional and touring bands, has toured abroad, taken part in CBGB’s Festival in 2013 and more, the members performing with a minimalistic live approach, playing in the dark with occasional monochromatic lighting and video.
Uniting one of the band’s former drummers with their current percussionist, THE OXFORD COMA recorded their latest batch of loosely improvised material in January of this year, bringing their entire current team on board, recording a plethora of brand new tracks with an expanded double-drummer setup. Following several sessions, the amassed material was then stripped-down to its most potent overall form, and is now being finalized for release as the band’s first new full-length since 2012’s Adonis album, dubbed The Pulls. Following their self-described recording “de-evolution” — continuing to opt for rawer, live, DIY productions with each release to date — THE OXFORD COMA is now preparing The Pulls for its release this Summer. Bent on combining the weirdness and freshness of improvisation with the intensity and honesty of good metal and the lasting impact of innovative rock, the new album was produced with minimal production, the vocals all in one take in order to preserve a natural feel. The Pulls delivers forty minutes of exploratory thunder as perplexing as it is enthralling, even closing out with an improvised jam and a drop-tuned cover of Led Zeppelin’s “When the Levee Breaks.” Recorded, engineered, mixed, mastered by Jalipaz at Audioconfusion in Mesa, Arizona, The Pulls will be independently released digitally and in a limited physical format this Summer, with the final details to be confirmed in the coming days.
Next year, THE OXFORD COMA will record their next opus with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago. But until then, surrounding the release of The Pulls, the band will toast the West and Northeastern US Coasts on tour. Additionally, there is allegedly a PBS documentary on the band being released in the not-too-distant future.
Stand back and watch the madness of THE OXFORD COMA becomes your reality as audio from The Pulls, band live actions and more disinforms the public in the weeks ahead.
THE OXFORD COMA Live:
5/12/2015 51 West – Phoenix, AZ w/ Maeth, Toast Ghost, The Spooky Buddies
THE OXFORD COMA:
Billy Tegethoff – guitar/vocals
Jameson Mars – bass/vocals
Casey Dillon – drums
Patrick Williams – drums
http://www.theoxfordcoma.com
http://theoxfordcoma.bandcamp.com
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