2018's Psychic Data was a heady mix of crunching electronica, dramatic John Carpenter influenced synth work, swaggering guitar riffs and low-key vocals.
Now signed to the Geoff Barrow (Beak/Portishead) co-ran label, Invada Records, Oxley's second album created during the pandemic, High Art Lite, isn't a huge departure from the debut in stylistic terms, however it's much bigger in sound, more widescreen, less unassuming and apologetic.
Electro-psych opener "Future Flesh" is an immediate indicator of Oxley's increased confidence, a two-minute plus intro of repetitive organs and hazy atmospherics builds into gargantuan electronic beats, crunching late '80s shoegaze guitars and vocals proudly placed on top instead of being hidden deep in the mix – this is a much more assured artist, it's peak TVAM.
"Every Day in Every Way" is a dirty melange of old school rock, the percussion pummelling like a JohnBonham beat, while the jagged synth riffage comes across like classic guitars, in the same way French duo Justice make hairy rock n roll using machines.He drops prowling goth-tronics on "Piz Buin", sinister Evil Heat era Primal Scream jams on Double Lucifer, the show stopping instrumental "Shallow Ends" indicates a childhood love of Gary Numan deep-cuts, while he masters the art of stoner baggy metal on "Say Anything". Like Big Black Delta, Deserta, or The Soft Moon, Oxley’s one-man operation more than stands up to those artists, his singular vision resulting in a concise piece of techno-psych.
