In 1988 Eugene Robinson (vocals, lyrics) and Niko Wenner (guitar, bass, keyboards, music) wrote songs with an approach decidedly different from Whipping Boy.

It was described as "one of the most unique first statements in modern avant-rock" by Rock-A-Rolla magazine, "staggeringly eclectic" by Simon Reynolds, and "a fierce, rigorous album that challenges almost every preconception rock listeners might have" by Allmusic.

[12][13] In May 2017 Oxbow released Thin Black Duke their seventh full-length album, like The Narcotic Story produced by Joe Chiccarelli and Niko Wenner and again on Hydra Head Records, to critical acclaim.

[16] Oxbow's material is musically varied and has been compared both to bands such as Neurosis and The Birthday Party, and modern classical composers such as Penderecki and John Luther Adams.

[3] Dan Adams, multi-instrumentalist, engineer who worked on animatronics in films such as Free Willie and Anaconda, and award-winning jazz drummer also used to drum for North Carolina's hardcore punk band the Ugly Americans.

Oxbow composer, arranger, and producer Wenner "a master of sculpting noise and tone"[10] has also toured and recorded as part of the bands God, Swell,[3] Celan,[21] and Jellyfish.

[26][27][28][29][30] Vocalist Robinson, also an amateur fighter and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Leopoldo Serao, has on several occasions dealt with misbehaving audience members with physical force.

[5][17][18][31][32][33] Robinson is the author of the books "Paternostra", "Les sons inimitables de l'amour: un plan à trois en quatre actes", A Long Slow Screw and Fight: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Ass-Kicking but Were Afraid You'd Get Your Ass Kicked for Asking, and worked as an Editor-at-Large at OZY OZY.com, in addition to being a video host of the now-defunct Knuckle Up and his own The Eugene S. Robinson Show Stomper, as well as The Care/Don't Care Preview on Bloody Elbow and a regular contributor to Vice magazine.