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Black Foxxes Conjure Atmosphere with Newest Album the Haar

With The Haar, Black Foxxes swerve closer to a full-on embracement of latter-day Radiohead, both musically and emotionally while maintaining their own type of moodiness. 

Moody, piano laced, loud/quiet-dynamic songs propelled by high pitched vocals, loud distorted electric guitars, and a heavy, foggy atmosphere defines the latest album from Black Foxxes, The Haar. Black Foxxes have drawn comparisons to everyone from Nirvana to the aforementioned Radiohead, but rarely have they veered so closely in sound to any of those 90s alt-rockers until this album. This comparison isn’t meant to be trite, though. It’s like comparing Howlin’ Wolf to Robert Johnson or Nirvana to The Kinks. Neither party in the comparison is better or worse than the other, but they do fully immerse themselves in the same genre characteristics to produce a unique, yet comparably similar, sound. Think of The Haar as more of a good thing. A thing that is sorely missing from alt-rock at the moment, which is namely, the type of introspective rock in the vein of classic Radiohead.

Okay, enough with the Radiohead comparisons. Black Foxxes are masters of their own sound, even if it takes its cues from their legendary Brit colleagues. Until The Haar,  Black Foxxes have been much more of a loud, raucous, rock rampage. While they have mixed in more moody tracks over the course of their career (see “Pines” from 2016’s I’m Not Well and “Jungle Skies” from 2020’s self-titled album), The Haar is mostly composed of such songs. “I Can’t Be Left Alone With It,” the album’s opening track is a 6 minute 14 second indulgence in high whispered vocals from lead singer, Mark Holley, that channels Thom Yorke at his most delicate and is framed by a simple repeated piano riff that drives the song, instead of the usual guitar riff. By the time the strings enter, followed shortly by the drums, we, the listeners, are well on our way to getting metaphorically lost in a cold, wet, sea fog, which is the album’s namesake. Some clearing of the air comes with the following track “Ha Ha Ha” which sounds much more like what we expect from Black Foxxes, yet the anguished lyrics, which address the age old internal battles a son often goes through with the emotional legacy bequeathed by his father, maintain the foggy mental atmospherics conjured thus far. Acoustic guitar and mental musings permeate the next track, “Where Have You Been,” veering us back into misty moments. The loud intrusion of some distorted riffing from an overdriven guitar and the reintroduction of solemn piano riffs bring this too short track to a too early conclusion. At this point in the album, we have been exposed to piano, acoustic and electric guitar, slow and break neck speed rhythms, and everything from whispered to yelled vocals. Much like the swirling fog rolling off the band’s native northern shores of Britain and Scotland as the waves break loudly in the background, The Haar roils its listeners with mixed emotions and sounds; however, keeping with the band’s thematic content thus far, they are feelings and impressions that linger on the heavier and darker side of the emotional spectrum. 

The rest of the album is a repeat of the first three songs thematically and musically. More piano, and guitars, acoustic and electric, show up and indulge in the various incarnations hitherto witnessed. At points along the way after “Where Have You Been,” the album does lose some of its momentum. While it doesn’t become repetitive per se, it does repeat itself here and there. “Bitcrusher” could almost have been left out. “Turn Out the Lights” is the most mid-career homage to mid-career Radiohead there can be, but is the highlight of the second half of the album. “Clean Mind” picks up the pace somewhat, but out Pumpkins the Smashing Pumpkins, the masters of the loud/quiet dynamic in rock, with its ups and downs in tempo and volume. The same can be said for “Shakey.” “Darker Than Light” is another piano driven mood piece, and “In the Image of Perfections” slouches its way towards a watery outro of giggles and splashes (just listen to the end of the album and you’ll get it). It’s a little bit of hope splashed on the canvas of The Haar that hopefully reminds the listener that the fog doesn’t linger forever and there will be some sunnier, if not necessarily healing, days ahead rife with some laughter, if not joy. 

Black Foxxes | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree

Carolina's based writer/journalist Andy Frisk love music, and writing, and when he gets to intermingle the two he feels most alive. Covering concerts and albums by both local and national acts, Andy strives to make the world a better place and prove Gen X really can still save the world.

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