Oxford Collapse

Bits

Sub Pop/Outside

Jen White (CHARTattack)

08/13/2008 9:43am

Mix two cups of messy '90s rock with a sprinkle of punk and two guys who can't sing, bake for six years and you have Bits. The Brooklyn trio's fourth full-length (and their first for Sub Pop) is based around the vocal interplay between guitarist Michael Pace and bassist Adam Rizer. Oxford Collapse will tease you on "Vernon-Jackson" and the catchy and freewheeling "Young Love Delivers," and they'll even surprise you with string arrangements on "A Wedding," but overall, most of it is as annoyingly sloppy and raw as the repetitive opener "Electric Arc." They've managed to bring college rock to a new and terrible level. They're like that creepy old dude in your first year English lit class who's been trying desperately to befriend everyone, but instead of hanging out with him, you head to the campus bar with your classmates to talk about how weird and out of place he is.