Biography

Since the release of Oxygen Thief’s second album in 2014, the world has changed a lot and their new record is the sound of frontman Barry Dolan trying to make sense of it all, rather than be overwhelmed, lost and consumed by the sludge and noise of this modern, post-Brexit, post-Trump world. Angry at and perplexed by the state of everything, Confusion Species is a raucous, bellicose call-to-arms punctuated by their now-trademark barrage of furious riffs and chaotic layers of intense and inspiring sounds. Starting as a solo acoustic riff machine, Oxygen Thief expanded to a 3 piece in 2013 with the addition of bassist Neil Elliott and drummer Ben Whyntie, who recorded this album at their studio The Old Blacksmiths. These aren’t just songs to make you bang your head, however – they’re designed to make you think and bring attention to issues, too. Graffiti; Irony; Lists, navigates the trenches of politics and history to serve as a commentary on Brexit’s false promises and to decry the racist past of Dolan’s hometown. Weaving past and present together, the songs are a fascinating collection of ideas that combine to address a whole spectrum of ideas all at once rather than deliver one specific polemic. To that extent, as much as these songs are designed to make you mosh – and to be honest, you’ll probably find it very hard not to – their other purpose is to effect change, to make you engage with the world around it and, ultimately, make you want to change it.