OX from Vancouver at Whelan's this Tues, on Tom Dunne this Mon

Deaglan

OX

+ Ronan Stone

Whelan’s, Wexford St

Tues 20th April. Doors 8pm

Admission just €10. Advance tickets available from ROAD, Sound Cellar, City Discs, Comet and Freebird.

Vancouver alt country rockers OX play Whelan’s this Tuesday in promotion of their debut album ‘Dust Bowl Revival’ which has been slowly winning over more and more fans since it’s release late last year. Already established as the leading country rock act in their native Canada; and with a sizable following across the US and continental Europe; this is OX’s first headline Dublin.

OX is based around the songwriting of Mark Browning – his melodic and deeply touching take on lo-fi country has had press comparing him most often with the great Neil Young and contemporary acts such as Calexico and the late Elliott Smith. Those at The Village last month to see the John Butler Trio were treated to a nice surprise when Mark played a solo opening slot.

Mark also recorded a solo session for Tom Dunne’s Pet Sounds show which will be broadcast this Monday 19th April between 9 – 10pm.

Admission to Tuesday’s show are just €10 and will be available on the door.

www.oxmusic.ws

OX – biog 2004

wilted, broken, skeletal... the incarnation of deconstructed pop & vintage indie... folk anti-hero mark browning's new voice, 'OX' is full of diesel and grit, spare of polish. the debut, DUSTBOWL REVIVAL is a collection of studio weary fragments, fragile masterpieces, sonic accidents... 'americana' at it's low-fi best.

vancouver canada's ox is a collective project consisting of mark browning, nathan lawr (royal city), chôn (radiogram), ruby loves u, ryan bishops (junction creek), jesse zubot (zubot & dawson), dutch koetsier, & 'cosmic' dave jeffrey. in the tradition of the byrds, the flying burrito brothers, the velvet underground, rank zappa - ox is a musical meeting of the minds - a musical affirmation that anything goes, anything rocks, anything rolls. the brainchild of mark browning, ox springs from a folk background - cultivated in the fertile soils of the canadian & american heartland - upon miles of highway, years of greyhound bus touring, and a multitude of adventure, woody guthrie style. what has emerged is a reflection of middle-america - where trash and beauty meet - a musical liquor store heist that will leave a distinct flavour of dust in your mouth.

· mark browning . vocal/guitar/bass

· ruby loves u . piano/vocal

· ryan bishops . vocal/bass/guitar

· dutch koetsier . drums/vocals

· nathan lawr . drums/piano

· matt foy . drums/vocals

· geoff hicks . drums

· cosmic dave . bass/vocals

· jesse zubot . violin

· chris herbst . electric lap slide



“Canadian singer-songwriter Ox leans heavily on the country-folk-rock tradition part invented by his countryman Neil Young back in the early ‘70’s and it’s to his credit the Dust Bowl Revival lives up to such a heavy analogy. Add to the equation the caliber of the songs, which incline toward narrative based lyrics, drawing the listener into spare, dreamy, wrecked little worlds where all existence relies on a barely caught glance and nothing really happens except lives being lived.”

Rob Forbes, Bucketfull of Brains, LONDON uk



“Laid-back and lo-fi Dust Bowl Revival is just as suitable for rainy West Coast Sundays as it is for Day-Glo Oklahoma sunsets. The fragile, piano-accompanied ‘Stolen Car’ is perfect, and when stoner-country conquers the charts, ‘Oh Eileen’ will be hailed as a seminal, genre-defining masterpiece.”

Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight, VANCOUVER



"With a voice broken, weary and elegant, Vancouver songman Ox plays a sensitive but scuffed, delicate but twisted variant on the cracked alt-country thing. On evidence of Dust Bowl Revival, he is a significant talent. The remarkable debut is a collection of sunshine'n'sorrow-soaked songs to swell the heart and chafe the soul."

Ross Fortune, Time Out, LONDON uk



"Modern tales of the road with traces of Depression-era dust on them. Dust Bowl Revival is hauntingly ambient, upbeat and beyond... this is marvelous piece of work."

Shannon Whibbs, Chart Attack, TORONTO


“Sparse, dusty western fare in the spirit of a more straightforward Giant Sand. Great harmonies, inspired lyrics, plenty of Canadian geographical mentions and no less than three different references to Camaros all contribute to ‘Dust Bowl Revival’s’ distinction as a top-notch effort.”

Exclaim, TORONTO



"OX: the sound of the open road blasted by grit, sifting into the cracks of the underground; pop-out flexivinyl stock between the pages of NO DEPRESSION; no polish, all the spit... Dust Bowl Revival is Neil Young kissed."

Mary-Lynn McEwen, FFWD, CALGARY



“Corvettes, roadside diners, Hollywood; OX: Dust Bowl Revival is natural and unpolished in the spirit of modern middle-America – something trashy and organic in a hot-rod cowboy style. Like riding shotgun on a liquor store heist.”

Chuck Molgat, Prairie Dog, REGINA



"Dust Bowl Revival is honey-warm countrified pop gussied with odd time signatures, echoey sound effects, haunting acoustics and Browning’s vocals. The easy grooving melodies take on a lovely patina."

Kerry Gold, Vancouver Sun, VANCOUVER



# 10 on Exclaim Top 50 of 2003

Ahead of some great company the Hidden Cameras (14), Radiohead (15), Massive Attack (18),



# 9 pick on Now Toronto’s Year in review 2003.

With accompanying feature article by Tim Perlich;

“No matter which college radio station you happen to have on, chances are it’s the lonesome voice of Mark Browning, aka Ox, you’ll hear softly crooning one of his achy-breaky ballads. The year end Canadian campus radio airplay tallies will show Ox’s Dust Bowl Revival album to be one of the most played discs of this past year.”



# 2 on European Americana Chart Nov 2003



#1 on Chart Attack - Canadian College Charts Aug 2003

Kicked Radiohead down to number 2. Dust Bowl Revival entered the chart at #9 and remained in the top ten for 9 weeks. Only Canadian release to achieve # 1 in over a decade.