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The Ox And The Ax Image
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 4 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: The third full-length release for the folk husband-and-wife duo of Cath (née Oss) and Ohil Tyler was produced by Phil Begg.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Mojo
    Apr 11, 2018
    80
    While these tales may have been found in far-flung places, they all ultimately belong to the same deep tradition--and one where unvarnished simplicity enhances the material's uncanny potential. [May 2018, p.94]
  2. Apr 11, 2018
    80
    On the Tylers’ third and best album, The Ox and the Ax, there is no obscuring the harsh world conjured by these songs with elaborate instrumentation, overwrought singing or dance tempos. Recorded in crystalline clarity, the instrumental accompaniments are usually little more than guitar or banjo, and while they’re skillfully played, it is the Tylers’ voices, unadorned and rich, that are the center of this record.
  3. Uncut
    Apr 11, 2018
    80
    Their playing and singing has laser-sharp focus, while still allowing the songs and their rich, raw melodies the space to breathe. [May 2018, p.35]
  4. Apr 11, 2018
    60
    Only on the opening cut do they attempt anything that could be construed as radical, marrying The Two Sisters, a child ballad with roots stretching back to the 16th century, to a Scottish jig, A Fisherman’s Song For Attracting Seals. It works beautifully, as do all of the following eight tracks, delivered with reverence and entirely free of pretension.