I was introduced to Portland experimental crooner Dragging an Ox Through Water through the inclusion of his track “Snowbank Treatment” on a playlist Danish art rock outfit Efterklang made to promote the release of their latest full length Piramida. I was immediately taken by how unlike anything I was possibly expecting it was – the track occupied this strange limbo of stuttering electronic-based pop with a noticeable country swagger. I was intrigued and instantly wanted more.
One of the exciting things about Dragging an Ox Through Water is how completely unpredictable his releases are. The Tropics of Phenomenon (which features the aforementioned “Snowbank Treatment) is a far more electronic-laden affair than his newest album Panic Sentry. And yet though it’s featuring a much more straight-forward folk presentation, there’s a blurring of genre lines, the subverting of expectation but still the spotlighting of a sincere product that keeps everything fascinating. While Panic Sentry is an album worthy of complete play-throughs “Sparrow Command” stuck out as a shining example of just what made Dragging an Ox Through Water so damn appealing. The use of electronics is sparse – an effect on the periphery, as Brian Mumform angles his vocals with supple languor. Mumform’s vocals a natural extension of his twangy guitar lines; bent, cooed, and whispered to jostle the lyrics into impressive shapes while electronics hum contentedly from the sidelines to give the whole tale an ethereal pallor.
Dragging an Ox Through Water’s latest full length Panic Sentry is out now. Available on digital/12″ vinyl via Bandcamp.
