Dragging An Ox Through Water :: “Panic Sentry”
Photo: Corbin Photo Archive
The Portland, OR-based project Dragging An Ox Through Water is a multi-dimensional school of sound, legendary status, and textural teaching from the hive mind of Brian Mumford that has been in rotation for over two decades since its conception in the early 2000s. With several releases dating back to a much simpler and more calming community of creation from an era in music that is long gone, Mumford’s tonal talents transcend the past, present, and future by eagerly presenting a narrative in nostalgia that is entirely his own. When the musician is not working on various projects for the impeccable Mississippi Records, writing liner notes, graphic designer/art restorer, etc., he’s very much in his own sonic space, conjuring the environmental elements needed to make his blissful brand of sound, such as his sophomore album, “Panic Sentry,” that was released back in 2014. Before the release of this project, Mumford unleashed a delicate body of work ranging in temperature and anatomical approach with titles such as “s/t 3", “Rebukes,” and 2008’s “The Tropics of Phenomenon,” all echoing a similar yet different cairn type structure for constructive philosophy. Practically saturated in this near-religious occupied room of reverb and revelation, the album explores the many destinations of alchemy found in the atmospheric Appalachia.
Photo: Heather Zinger
Where free-form meditation and the numerous parallels of investment into a cultural subconsciousness lurk, Mumford’s meticulous ability to wager on the fine and fragile line of rhythm and ritual is wonderfully wholesome. While Mumford pulls inspiration and tonal texture from an endless catalog and collection of his employer to access the transcending emotions of his peers from a distant past, his music simultaneously reflects this calmly calculated and harmoniously heartwarming sedation that is both captivating and monumentally moving. With tracks like “I Don’t Understand What You Like About It,” “False True Love,” and “Mint Of The Seasons” helping to bring the true backbone of the album into total focus, Mumford exhales into an electronic eternity that is horizontally polished yet sophisticated in that he knows exactly how to articulate his digital dissociation into a feathery afterlife of multi-layered mantras. “Panic Sentry” awakens this deep sleep within its listeners in a way that respectfully resonates like that of JOMF, Flying Canyon, and the interstellar institution of MV and EE during the often mourned moments of the early to mid-2000s. A freedom in sound and community that will always be in memory and radical replication, Dragging An Ox Through Water sincerely marks a time and place that will continue to reflect and inspire bands and fundamental fans for years to come as Mumford continues to plow through the solitary soundscapes of inevitable isolation and creative constitution.
