''Thin Black Duke'' is the seventh studio album by American

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

band

Oxbow __NOTOC__ An oxbow is a U-shaped metal pole (or larger wooden frame) that fits the underside and the sides of the neck of an ox or wikt:bullock, bullock. A bow pin holds it in place. The term "oxbow" is widely used to refer to a U-shaped meand ...

. It was released on May 5, 2017 through Hydra Head Records.

Background and composition

According to ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' writer Zoe Camp, the album "envision a world domineered by disorder, a carnivalesque arena where music's most intimidating, grandiose genres (

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

high-concept High concept is a type of artistic work that can be easily pitched with a succinctly stated premise. It can be contrasted with low concept, which is more concerned with character development and other subtleties that are not as easily summariz ...

chamber pop Chamber pop (also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of strings, horns, piano, and vocal harmonies, and other components drawn from t ...

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

, neoclassical,

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

) can duke it out like gladiators one minute, and come together for a grotesque group hug the next."

Critical reception

''Thin Black Duke'' was met with critical acclaim. The album received an average score of 87/100 from 9 reviews on

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, indicating "universal acclaim". In a positive review with ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'', Sean Guthrie wrote, "By rights no group should be peaking after 30 years of making music together, yet that is the situation in which Oxbow find themselves. Will they ever transcend ''Thin Black Duke''? Such are the ideas and attention to detail on this record, only a fool would bet against them." Zoe Camp of ''

'' was positive on the album, but she did not see ''Thin Black Duke'' as Oxbow's "definitive show of force".

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. Oxbow * Dan Adams – bass * Greg Davis – drums, percussion * Eugene Robinson – vocals * Niko Wenner – guitars, vocals, keyboards, composition, arrangement, production Additional musicians * Philippe Thiphaine – additional guitars (1, 2) * Kyle Bruckmann –

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

(4, 7, and 8) * Oxbow Orchestra Eternal – 16-part brass and strings ensemble * Marco d'Ambrosio –

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Technical personnel *

Aaron Turner Aaron Turner (born November 5, 1977) is an American musician, singer, graphic artist, and founder of label Hydra Head Records. He is most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist for the post-metal bands Sumac (band), SUMAC and Isis ...

– artwork, design * Joe Chiccarelli – engineering, mixing, production * Scott Bergstrom – second engineer * Monte Vallier (with Ruminator Audio) – additional engineering, song arrangement consultation * John Golden (with Golden Mastering) – vinyl mastering * Emily Lazar (with The Lodge) – digital mastering

References

{{Reflist Oxbow (band) albums Experimental rock albums by American artists Albums produced by Joe Chiccarelli