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Fox Food Records – Something’s There But You’re Not Sure What

Jon Doyle — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 08:32:25 +0000

We make no secret of our admiration and appreciation of Fox Food Records. In a music world saturated with new artists and governed by marketing and hype, the label has quietly and consistently helped an array of talented people find an audience, showing that humble hard work and community are as valuable as ever in this digital age.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of Fox Food Records, and to celebrate James Smith has gathered a large number of the label’s artists for a special compilation, Something’s There But You’re Not Sure What. Essentially a who’s who of the Fox Food roster, the release represents a celebration of what truly independent labels can offer—a diverse group of people from all over the world linked not by a specific sound and style but rather the spirit within.

Opening with an acoustic version of Oh Rose‘s ‘Prom’, Something’s There But You’re Not Sure What features a whole host of our favourites. Nice Legs stop by with another slice of delightfully warm fuzz pop, Spartan Jet-Plex provides an alternate take on single ‘Meant’ and Monarch Mtn returns with his characteristically intimate and melancholic whisper-folk.

Dana Gavanski joins Kaiya Cade on the haunting ‘Garden’, Fazed on a Pony serves up a dose of wonky nostalgia and Goodbye Max welcomes us back into his wistful warmth with the modest wonder of ‘Search Party.’ Then there’s the icy pop of Bloodhype, the whimsical momentum of Plant Food, not to mention the playful hush of Lewtrakimou and cool swagger of Saint Charles. Mixing things up, Henoheno and Fair Mothers offer different takes on patient, sprawling music—the ethereal gloom of the former matched in mood and scope by the foreboding creep of the latter.

Elsewhere, Unisex offer a carefree sway with ‘Let the Tide Take You’, Fairy Godmother a garage rock washed with dreamy haze and the likes of Ratbath, Hairpins, Suzy Jivotovski (of GRNDMS) and Deer Scout all provide stellar examples of intimate bedroom folk. Then, in a fitting finale, Smith’s own Good Good Blood teams up with Astral Social Club for mammoth closer ‘Heathen Astronaut’.

With ambient textures and electronic beeps and glimpses of sincere emotion peeking through the fog, the track acts as a kind of summary of the compilation and therefore the Fox Food Record’s mission as a whole. Heartfelt, experimental, bound not by expectation or convention but rather some gut-level intuition. Together, the elements coalesce into an intangible yet sustained sense of spirit, something far more powerful and lasting than anything done alone. This might not be something than can be adequately put into words, but that it exists is a testament to Smith’s judgement and effort. Because something is there, even if you’re not sure what.

Something’s There But You’re Not Sure What by Friends of Fox FoodSomething’s There But You’re Not Sure What is out today and you can get it from the Fox Food Records Bandcamp page.

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June 2018 Roundup

Jon Doyle — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 11:08:19 +0000

A dry, hot month has just left us, but luckily we featured more than enough cool music to keep things bearable. Here’s a playlist featuring all the acts we covered in June 2018, except for Boreen‘s ‘Myers-Briggs’ and Color Tongues‘s ‘Adult Lessons’, which are not available for streaming just yet. We’ll add them once they are live, but otherwise listen below, and click through the links in the tracklisting to be taken to the specific posts.

Tracklisting:

Dear Nora – White Fur
Lawn – 2000 Boy
Pearl Crush – True Blue
Dead Painters – Fool On Fire
Slowcoaches – Found Down
Two Meters – Left Behind
Kerem Atalay – Winter 2
Pat Moon – I Belong
Blood Hype – Not Too Good
Talons’ – Driving Home From Shows
The Nova Darlings – I Like Crashing My Car (Into Yours)
Dead Sullivan – Swallow
Onlyness – Comfortable
Of the Valley – Italy
Nice Knees – Backout
Suburban Pets – Candy
Minor Moon – It’s Okay
Caroline Lazar – Georgia
Heatwarmer – American Dog
Jacob Furr – Life Comes At You Fast
Deux Trois – Dave
Grace Turner – Dead or Alive
Britton Patrick Morgan – Southern Drawl

You can find all previous monthly roundup playlists here, and a variety of other such mixes here. Also, you follow us on Spotify or Playmoss to stay right up to date. Be sure to stay with us through July in what promises to be another great month for music.

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Song Premiere: Bloodhype – Not Too Good

Jon Doyle — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 09:33:12 +0000

Bloodhype, the recording project of Maureen Neer from Chicago, makes a sparse brand of electro pop that’s as comfortable sliding along in placid rhythm as it is rising into crescendos. As such, the music takes on a strangely affirming quality, though one which allows sadness to seep into its cracks. Think that wistful sense of wonder common to antecedent or aftermath, a newfound appreciation for how things are or were, a quiet mourning for what we know and knew. Or, as the bio puts it: “Bloodhype is dancing alone at 3am. The smell of grass tousled by early spring gusts. The sound of small animals stirring after a thunderstorm.”

With full-length album High From Las Vegas coming at the end of the month on Fox Food Records, we get the privilege of sharing brand new single, ‘Not Too Good’, to ramp up the anticipation. The song has an intricate spirit, flickering to life from small elements and beats and clicking into some higher function, eventually rising into a complex, layered soundscape. Neer’s voice acts as the gathering force for this process, the gravity that corrals the various components and spins them into one cohesive whole, a swirling, miasmic body that you too will be drawn into, before the track dissipates back into its competent parts, fading into the nothing from which it came.

High From Las Vegas is set for release on the 29th June via Fox Food Records and you can pre-order it now via Bandcamp.

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Friends For Equality, a benefit compilation from Fox Food Records & Spartan Jet-Plex

Jon Doyle — Mon, 05 Dec 2016 19:43:29 +0000

When the world is heading in a direction opposite to that you would choose, indifferent (and often outright nasty) figures are gaining power, and societal divisions are widening by the day, there’s a strong and justifiable urge to retreat to small circles, rebel against the outside pressures through self-expression and individuality. However, while creativity is unquestionably a force for good, now more than ever it’s important to remember that art alone cannot right every wrong, especially for those at the sharp end of the changes in policy and attitude that are continuing to grow across the world. Which isn’t to say art shouldn’t be one of our main weapons, it’s just a case of ensuring we use it in the correct way.

Take for example Friends For Equality, the benefit compilation in support of Southern Poverty Law Center, ACLU and Planned Parenthood put together by Nancy Kells and Fox Food Records. Collecting the talents of 42 acts, the release features a diverse range of unreleased tracks from all over the world, including WTD favs such as Henry Demos, Henoheno, PAT MOON, Rainwater, Francie Cool, Lewtrakimou, Slumbers and Monarch Mtn, not to mention songs from the creators themselves in the form of Spartan Jet-Plex and Good Good Blood. As you might expect, it’s also a great way to discover new artists, and while there are too many to write about properly, there’s enough variation in style and genre to ensure every music fan will find something to their liking.

Not content with the compilation, Nancy is organising a benefit show at Strange Matter in Richmond, VA on the 17th February, and working to put together a zine for which the theme is “social justice/civil rights – so anything related to that – drawings, photographs, comics, editorials, poetry, short story, etc.” Submissions are currently open until the 2nd January, so email spartanjetplex@gmail.com if you want to participate or help in any way.

You can buy Friends For Equality now via Bandcamp, and be sure to remember that the $5 price tag is a minimum suggestion (and impossibly generous for 42 tracks). Equally, if you don’t have cash to spare, you can help by spreading the word or getting involved (just contact Spartan Jet-Plex via the email address provided above).

Artwork by Ryan McCardle

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