OxBlood Records, First Blood

reviewed by hiram lucke

OxBlood is a new label out of Kansas City run by long-time radio host Robert Moore and Megan Hamilton, formerly of the band Frogpond. For the label’s first release, they decided to put together a compilation of bands old and new from the Kansas City/Lawrence area with all songs recorded by Paul Malinowski (of the Kansas City bands Season to Risk and Shiner). That’s about as homegrown as you can get.

By using the same producer on each track, the label has done away with the usual variance of sound on most compilations. Luckily, the music from the sixteen artists on the comp helps to keep the listener involved. Although anchored in guitar-driven indie rock, First Blood follows through on its premise of showcasing some of the best bands from the area.

Standout tracks include the spazzed new wave-cum-proggishness of Be-Non’s “Garlic”, the understated beauty of namelessnumberheadman’s keyboard-driven “Unchopping Our First Tree,” the easy going pop of both Ghosty’s “Make it Easier “ and In the Pines “How to Love Her,” and the glitchy rethinking of 70s era Kinks from White Whale with their song “Matchbook”.

Overall, the compilation is a great artifact of the sound of Kansas City/Lawrence area’s rock scene in the late 00s. As someone familiar with the music of the place, my only complaint is that the wonderful hip-hop scene of the area wasn’t represented, but maybe next time. It’s a minor complaint, though. For anyone who doesn’t know about the music, you should definitely seek this one out. For anyone who does know about it, well, do the same thing.