(Sub Pop)

www.subpop.com

Considering how many times guitarist Michael Pace sings “I can’t remember things,” in “Electric Arc,” you’d think he was referring to the song’s lyrics, which he pretty much reduces to that line. But half an album later, he’s wailing the esoteric pledge, “In your presence, we’ll acquiesce/ Reduced to fanboys by your smile,” in a song called “For the Winter Coats.” Clearly the Oxford Collapse enjoys both simplistic wit and five-dollar college words, and they present both over a driving musical background.

On their fourth album for Sub Pop, the New York trio comes up with chugging bass lines and pounding drums layered with two-note guitar melodies that are just itching to break into loud power chords; and usually they do, eventually. Vocals come out in yells that manage to stay on pitch, most of the time. Their sound evokes something like dyed-in-the-wool indie rock of 15 years ago, with the elements mentioned here merging aggression and melody, delivering it with the same unpretentious enthusiasm of their forebears, which makes it even more appealing.

Standout Tracks: “Back of the Yards,” “Featherbeds”         MIKE SHANLEY