{"id":72818,"date":"2018-11-23T13:00:09","date_gmt":"2018-11-23T13:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=72818"},"modified":"2018-11-22T19:45:11","modified_gmt":"2018-11-22T19:45:11","slug":"review-oxygen-thief-confusion-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-oxygen-thief-confusion-species\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Oxygen Thief – Confusion Species"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Fear is a powerful emotion, to be acknowledged and understood, as Bristol three-piece Oxygen Thief<\/b> demonstrate on third full-length \u2018Confusion Species\u2019<\/i>. Packed with metallic punk aggression and scathing critiques of society,\u00a0this is an album created by paranoia and distrust. It doesn’t care for patience or subtlety.<\/p>\n

Opener \u2018End Of the Pier Pressure\u2019<\/i> nails this point. Abandoning any conventional intro and opening with straightforward pile-driving guitar riffs, as frontman Barry Dolan proclaims:\u00a0“<\/em>Admitting I was wrong, doesn\u2019t mean you were right, you just came to the same conclusion, at a different time”<\/i>. In many ways, that lyric reflects the stubbornness found in modern political discourse. Each side needs to be at fault somehow.<\/p>\n

Naturally, \u2018Confusion Species\u2019<\/i> is a political record by nature. Its vitriol comes from watching your country’s demise via caricature leaders miscalculating the irreversible consequences of their actions, while the rest of the public turn a blind eye. Cries of “Rename the buildings, rewrite our histories”<\/i>\u00a0on \u2018Suspension Bridge of Disbelief\u2019<\/i> reflects the UK\u2019s process of isolating itself.\u2018Graffiti; Irony; Lists\u2019 <\/i>adds that the nation is built on “hate and selfish performance anxiety”.<\/p>\n

[youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tXy82kzVfsE]<\/p>\n

Some might say they\u2019ve heard this all before, and that a lot of the album’s themes are the same as those in\u00a0\u20191984\u2019<\/i>.\u00a0 But Orwell never wrote a riff as hard the mid-section of \u2018Lost In the Post-\u2019<\/i>. Punctuated by claustrophobic\u00a0urgency,\u00a0\u2018Confusion Species\u2019<\/i> is full of concrete slabs of distorted guitars that feel like outlets of pure frustration Admittedly, Dolan and bassist Neil Elliott thrive on lots of Reuben worship throughout these compositions, but this familiarity is often countered by drummer Ben Whyntie’s spontaneous blastbeat sections.<\/p>\n

Oxygen Thie<\/b>f<\/strong>‘s flesh-and-bone rawness is key to \u2018Confusion Species\u2019\u00a0<\/i>and any attempt to romanticise or polish these tracks would instantly dull their blade. This record is based on fear and concern and it’s used to crushing effect.<\/p>\n

4\/5<\/p>\n

\u2018Confusion Species\u2019<\/i> by Oxygen Thief<\/b> is out now on\u00a0Xtra Mile Recordings.<\/b><\/p>\n

Oxygen Thief<\/b> links:\u00a0Website\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Andy Davidson (@AndyrfDavidson<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Oxygen Thief’s flesh-and-bone rawness is key to \u2018Confusion Species\u2019”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":72819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[4319,62,15033,16256,7029,112],"class_list":["post-72818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-album-review","tag-already-heard","tag-andrew-davidson","tag-confusion-species","tag-oxygen-thief","tag-xtra-mile-recordings"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nReview: Oxygen Thief - Confusion Species - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""Oxygen Thief's flesh-and-bone rawness is key to \u2018Confusion Species\u2019"\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review: Oxygen Thief - Confusion Species - Already Heard Staging\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""Oxygen Thief's flesh-and-bone rawness is key to \u2018Confusion Species\u2019"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-oxygen-thief-confusion-species\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Already Heard Staging\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AlreadyHeard\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-23T13:00:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/029491.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew Davidson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@alreadyhearduk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@alreadyhearduk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew Davidson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Review: Oxygen Thief - Confusion Species - Already Heard Staging","description":"\"Oxygen Thief's flesh-and-bone rawness is key to \u2018Confusion Species\u2019\"","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Review: Oxygen Thief - Confusion Species - Already Heard Staging","og_description":"\"Oxygen Thief's flesh-and-bone rawness is key to \u2018Confusion Species\u2019\"","og_url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-oxygen-thief-confusion-species\/","og_site_name":"Already Heard Staging","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AlreadyHeard\/","article_published_time":"2018-11-23T13:00:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/029491.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Andrew Davidson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@alreadyhearduk","twitter_site":"@alreadyhearduk","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andrew Davidson","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-oxygen-thief-confusion-species\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-oxygen-thief-confusion-species\/"},"author":{"name":"Andrew Davidson","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#\/schema\/person\/e32d2500b34afa459324477cb4410353"},"headline":"Review: Oxygen Thief – Confusion Species","datePublished":"2018-11-23T13:00:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-oxygen-thief-confusion-species\/"},"wordCount":357,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-oxygen-thief-confusion-species\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/029491.jpg","keywords":["Album Review","Already Heard","Andrew Davidson","Confusion Species","Oxygen Thief","Xtra Mile Recordings"],"articleSection":["Album Reviews"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-oxygen-thief-confusion-species\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-oxygen-thief-confusion-species\/","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-oxygen-thief-confusion-species\/","name":"Review: Oxygen Thief - Confusion Species - Already Heard Staging","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-oxygen-thief-confusion-species\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-oxygen-thief-confusion-species\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/029491.jpg","datePublished":"2018-11-23T13:00:09+00:00","description":"\"Oxygen Thief's flesh-and-bone rawness is key to \u2018Confusion Species\u2019\"","inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-oxygen-thief-confusion-species\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-oxygen-thief-confusion-species\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/029491.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/029491.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#website","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/","name":"Already Heard Staging","description":"Covering the best in alternative music as best as we can","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#organization","name":"Already Heard","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/AH-relaunch-logo-white-bg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/AH-relaunch-logo-white-bg.jpg","width":500,"height":500,"caption":"Already Heard"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AlreadyHeard\/","https:\/\/x.com\/alreadyhearduk","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/alreadyheard\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/already-heard\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/AlreadyHeardMusic","https:\/\/tiktok.com\/@alreadyhearduk","https:\/\/www.threads.net\/@alreadyheard"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#\/schema\/person\/e32d2500b34afa459324477cb4410353","name":"Andrew Davidson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b774e73ef804d6bb950dfb8ec4e94556e9d5d7e5ca82ec6c7b1a459877d2ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b774e73ef804d6bb950dfb8ec4e94556e9d5d7e5ca82ec6c7b1a459877d2ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b774e73ef804d6bb950dfb8ec4e94556e9d5d7e5ca82ec6c7b1a459877d2ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Andrew Davidson"},"description":"This is for the hearts still beating","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/author\/andrewdavidson\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72818"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73020,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72818\/revisions\/73020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}