Black Foxxes | Young Street Tavern | Melbourne | 25th April
I have listened to Black Foxxes for the better part of year now, getting into them through their latest album, The Haar. I was particularly taken by its concluding track In the Image of Perfection, which stretches over ten minutes long, but feels barely longer than a couple minutes. Their inspiration clearly comes from far and wide, with shoegaze influences alongside jazz, creating a selection of songs that feel unique, often leveraging their long runtimes for extremely satisfying payoffs.
Needless to say, I was very excited to see Black Foxxes on Saturday night. It was the band’s first time over from the UK, in a surprisingly large string of near-regional shows, and I wasn’t going to miss them.
In the hot upstairs of Frankston’s Young Street Tavern, Riviera kicked off the night. For such a young band, they already seemed to have such a firm grasp of their sound, their bass and drums keeping up a captivating energy while the guitars provided bonus flavour. Their sound was easy-going without succumbing to the inoffensiveness that I often find in indie rock. They won the crowd over quickly. Next up was The Styes. The Frankston locals were right at home on stage, with the crowd immediately on their side. They were charming, loud, fun and had a sound perfect for a beach day or shouting along in a pub.
Next, was the band I’d been waiting for, Black Foxxes. Up front, I need to say that this band is deserving of so much more than the crowd gave them. I cannot write this review without mentioning that a chunk of the crowd stayed for the locals and left immediately after, but I have no idea what they were thinking because Black Foxxes put on such a strong show. Moody, weighty, cathartic, Black Foxxes has a real knack for building atmosphere with their songs. It is difficult to describe without experiencing, but there is something to their soundscape that I have not felt before, something that lures me in quickly and mesmerizes me all the way up until they stop, no matter the runtime. The music grows and dips, churns itself up and then provides soft release, shouts at you and then whispers to you, relies on hypnotic repetition before snapping into something new to surprise you. Their music feels experimental but without falling into the trap of being unpleasant. It all sounds so strained, but it regularly falls into such a groovy rhythm that it never becomes taxing to listen to. It was such a treat to be able to see them play live, and to see their identity take shape on stage. Every member was critical to the ramping and de-escalation of their music’s pacing, but I personally found the guitar to be a standout. When it kicks in, particularly in its more complicated sections, I found myself amazed at how pleasantly grating it could be. I cannot wait until I get to see it again someday.
I spoke briefly with some members of the band after the show, and they spoke fondly of their time in Australia so far and are excited for the back half of their tour. Black Foxxes are in Canberra this week, and NSW and QLD following that.