photo by Rochelle Shipman
Foxx Bodies are not for everyone. Their type of artful punk can feel like a nervous breakdown. The songs spearheaded by front person Bella Vanek is like breaking open a diary of trauma, of talking about those things you are not supposed to talk about and if even if you should, you should do so in the confines of 'the family' or with a therapist but not on a stage for all to see. This ability to write brazen, musically caustic songs about childhood abuse, mental illness, gender (and more) is their absolute strength and beauty. If you want some sort of vapid populous rock stay away and go listen to Imagine Dragons. If you find the black and white sections of The Wizard of Oz the most terrifying, take in Foxx Bodies. I think you will find their sheer power and truth exhilarating and impactful.
I meant to just write about their track 'Room', "a song about being queer" but the aforementioned words seemed more appropriate. That beings said, I love the track sonically and emotionally. Foxx Bodies type of music which I suppose in a broad way would be defined as punk or art punk is constructed, shaped in such interesting ways. The band veer into sounds that blend in more archetypal hard rock, grunge and even metal sounds as well. It might seem odd but the sonic framework, the Andalusian gallop (rhythm), the exquisite guitar work on "Room" feels more progressively drawn, there is something in tonally outside of 'Western music' and for some reason System of a Down came to mind. Interestingly, Serj Tankian strident politico growl shares some of the strident, open wound rebellion of Vanek's croon and wail. The non traditional vocal aesthetic that Vanek exhibits in all of Foxx Bodies' work is pitch perfect in it's pounding, splintering attack. I absolutely love her vocal intensity and tenderness on "Room". Incidentally, the song shifts into something that feels like a 40's torch song. A stunning, beautifully odd shift, a bi-polar spin out that feels like a statement about duality or giving in to societal standards. It feel at once surreal, a color shift that plays with our emotions, it feels tender but sad at the same time.
This band is an artful national treasure to be discovered not for some but by all. Hell, we are all crying out for something even those of us who do so silently. It is nice to have artists / activists who are willing to do it for us, to poke us in the stomach, to be an example, a source of inspiration, a cathartic touchstone, a hug in the dark.
"Room" is from Foxx Bodies' new album "Vixen". Please check it out via their Bandcamp page (below).
-Robb Donker Curtius
* * *
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.facebook.com/foxxbodies/
https://www.instagram.com/foxxbodies/
https://twitter.com/foxxbodies
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6k00R83AzWPLJDrqtUIcoV?si=EhAzYR_vQreDZzb0Q3-MJQ&nd=1
https://foxxbodies.bandcamp.com/
Foxx Bodies often describe themselves as an accident. Bailey Moses, Adam Bucholz, and Matt Vanek came together in their shared home when their singer Bella Vanek asked everyone to play loud music she could scream over after she began unpacking her newly-recognized childhood abuse. While each of them had been practicing musicians from a young age, none had been in a band before Foxx Bodies.
Their first show was just as unconventional as their formation, with Tucson hometown hero Lando Chill asking them to open his album release show without ever having heard them play. After scrambling to write material for their first show, they discovered that their own unrehearsed brand of surf punk struck a chord with audiences and it was clear — Foxx Bodies wasn't going anywhere.
They recorded their first self-titled album Foxx Bodies just a few short weeks after this show in the living room of a fellow musician and friend, Ben Schneider. It was recorded in one day and without much thought beyond how grateful they were to be living the dream. Fans of the band held the album close to their hearts and on repeat in their cars, screaming along.
Touring that album and growing in the Tucson music scene eventually led Foxx Bodies to Los Angeles, where they embarked on a second album with the help of producer John Goodmanson (Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney) and Erik Blood (Shabazz Palaces, Tacocat). After a few dozen local shows and a stint supporting Remo Drive, they were all set to drop Vixen when the pandemic hit.
The new album Vixen is, in so many ways, a story about coming to terms with yourself. It only made sense that the band would have to do just that while weathering a pandemic before finally releasing this album into the world. Foxx Bodies’ music has always been about the combat of survival, which singer Bella Vanek has never been shy about. She can be found just about anywhere sharing her own struggles with mental illness, eating disorders, sexual abuse, or... really whatever most people are afraid to say out loud.
On Vixen, Vanek makes her trauma sound dangerously intriguing, singing about her life in such a startling and honest way that it makes you examine your own ideas of mental illness, gender, and trauma. Marry that with Moses' salty, surfy licks, Bucholz’s elaborate fills, [Matt] Vanek’s infectious baselines, and it's all over. The four desert punks meld together to bring a magnetic, dramatic air to each song, delivering romping punk and the occasional piercing scream.
Listening to Foxx Bodies makes you feel so electric and so alive you’re almost uncomfortable.
Foxx Bodies, punk, new album, "Vixen", open gut rock, Bella Vanek, ID rock, alternative rock, experimental punk, art punk, mental illness, gender, trauma, "Room", childhood abuse, desert punks, Tucson, LA,
"Room" is from Foxx Bodies' new album "Vixen". Please check it out via their Bandcamp page (below).
-Robb Donker Curtius
* * *
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.facebook.com/foxxbodies/
https://www.instagram.com/foxxbodies/
https://twitter.com/foxxbodies
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6k00R83AzWPLJDrqtUIcoV?si=EhAzYR_vQreDZzb0Q3-MJQ&nd=1
https://foxxbodies.bandcamp.com/
Foxx Bodies often describe themselves as an accident. Bailey Moses, Adam Bucholz, and Matt Vanek came together in their shared home when their singer Bella Vanek asked everyone to play loud music she could scream over after she began unpacking her newly-recognized childhood abuse. While each of them had been practicing musicians from a young age, none had been in a band before Foxx Bodies.
Their first show was just as unconventional as their formation, with Tucson hometown hero Lando Chill asking them to open his album release show without ever having heard them play. After scrambling to write material for their first show, they discovered that their own unrehearsed brand of surf punk struck a chord with audiences and it was clear — Foxx Bodies wasn't going anywhere.
They recorded their first self-titled album Foxx Bodies just a few short weeks after this show in the living room of a fellow musician and friend, Ben Schneider. It was recorded in one day and without much thought beyond how grateful they were to be living the dream. Fans of the band held the album close to their hearts and on repeat in their cars, screaming along.
Touring that album and growing in the Tucson music scene eventually led Foxx Bodies to Los Angeles, where they embarked on a second album with the help of producer John Goodmanson (Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney) and Erik Blood (Shabazz Palaces, Tacocat). After a few dozen local shows and a stint supporting Remo Drive, they were all set to drop Vixen when the pandemic hit.
The new album Vixen is, in so many ways, a story about coming to terms with yourself. It only made sense that the band would have to do just that while weathering a pandemic before finally releasing this album into the world. Foxx Bodies’ music has always been about the combat of survival, which singer Bella Vanek has never been shy about. She can be found just about anywhere sharing her own struggles with mental illness, eating disorders, sexual abuse, or... really whatever most people are afraid to say out loud.
On Vixen, Vanek makes her trauma sound dangerously intriguing, singing about her life in such a startling and honest way that it makes you examine your own ideas of mental illness, gender, and trauma. Marry that with Moses' salty, surfy licks, Bucholz’s elaborate fills, [Matt] Vanek’s infectious baselines, and it's all over. The four desert punks meld together to bring a magnetic, dramatic air to each song, delivering romping punk and the occasional piercing scream.
Listening to Foxx Bodies makes you feel so electric and so alive you’re almost uncomfortable.
Foxx Bodies, punk, new album, "Vixen", open gut rock, Bella Vanek, ID rock, alternative rock, experimental punk, art punk, mental illness, gender, trauma, "Room", childhood abuse, desert punks, Tucson, LA,
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