Having always treaded the fringe of music, NEUROSIS and subsequently, Neurot Recordings, has attracted their share of like-minded musicians (at least in terms of artistic integrity, if not musical similarity), as well as fans over the years. At this point, however, having nestled in their niche, Neurot Recordings needed to expand further out of their circle towards people who, outside of NEUROSIS, have yet to hear what Neurot Recordings has to offer.

Thus, “Neurot Recordings I” a collection of songs from Neurot artists that fully demonstrates the range and scope of the label, be it in the form of NEUROSIS’ majestic, almost overwhelming sound, OXBOW’s ugly and all too real music, or the strangely calm BLOOD & TIME. It goes much deeper than that, however, as each band is different that the one that came before it and the one that will come after.

This is not the kind of CD that you can merely put on your CD player as background noise; to do so would be a great injustice to both you and the artists who perform on the disc. This is something you will need to explore with a fine tooth comb in order to discover which artists are truly for you and which you simply do not understand.

Rounding out the collection is a DVD filled with both video and audio files, which is an amalgamation of bizarre audio clips, as well as two excerpts of two longer documentary styled videos, the first being TRIBES OF NEUROT’s Cairn and the second, the intriguing and vastly intriguing “Music For Adults: A Film About A Band Called Oxbow” that gives the viewer an inside glimpse into OXBOW’s live performances, which seem to be more of an experience than simply a show, as well as interviews with viewers and the band, about what OXBOW is.

A difficult and challenging release from a label that is nothing less. (Online July 4, 2004)