Oak are doom band that has more in common with Morton Feldman and Sunn O))) than Black Sabbath. Every note, every hit on the drums, is deliberate and surrounded by space. Even the vocals are a drawn-out, strangled growl from the pits. As the songs unwind and add to the minimal skeleton, a flow starts to reveal itself. A riff starts to develop, and, when it does, the payoff is worth it. The drums become more than just a hit punctuating space. In order to hear this, all you have to do is hone in on the music and nothing else. I appreciate how what was used as the lock groove on side one is incorporated into “Sorrow Is Dead” on the second side. This is the type of record you put on and crawl inside your mind for a while. Nice gatefold packaging as well.
–M.Avrg (A389, a389records.com)