THE OXFORD SET are an LA quartet displaying distinctly Anglophile leanings on this eponymously-titled, self-released EP/ mini-album.
The CD comes dressed in appropriate, varsity-tinged imagery and regardless of the band's hometown, most of the seven tracks contained within bear significant traces of their love of all things Mod/ Britpop.
Which, on paper, might potentially sound cringeworthy, but thankfully The Oxford Set have done their homework well, and make it work to their advantage during the course of this energetic, 18-minute taster.
They sell you something of a dummy to begin with, thanks to "Lesson One", which is a cute acoustic guitar instrumental and closer to early Fairport Convention than anything The Who might have conjured up. Just as you're beginning to wonder, though, beefy, bitten-off riffs kick in and the economic cut'n'thrust of "Another Day" - with its' chorus of "Hey!"s and Kurt Adam's gravelly, gutsy vocals - snaps you out of it and makes you realise they were serious after all.
And - leaving aside another short, Madrigal-esque workout in "Etude" - that's roughly the blueprint for the remainder of "The Oxford Set". It's maybe not horribly original, but the band play with intuitive gusto throughout and work together well enough to transcend in the long run.
Indeed, the remaining four tracks - "In The End", "Standby", "Countdown" and "Burning Question" - find each of the four Oxfords bringing something distinctive to the table. "In The End" boasts big, brawny riffs of The Who/ Oasis variety and demonstrate bassist Charles Steinberg's grasp of snaky, counterpoint melodic lines; "Standby" is strutting, ratchet-y pop with excellent Chris Pope/ Steve Mason-style guitar flash from Jacob Heath; "Countdown" is driven along by Jannea McClure's great, tom-heavy drumming and gales of feedback The Creation would have loved and the closing rave-up of "Burning Question" finds Adam screaming his lungs raw and the whole band getting off on their sheer, unbridled enthusiasm. Which is no bad thing.
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Of course, as anyone from the early Kinks to The Hives will tell you, this kind of musclebound Mod-tinged power-pop never entirely falls out of favour, so really what's not to like here? This 7-tracker is sussed, confident gear that will bring a smile to the face, a shake to the hips and instant Saturday night to anyone who's popped a few pills and is within hurling distance of the dancefloor. More of this and The Oxford Set will graduate very nicely indeed.
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