Party Music For The Sad Kids
Harvey Fox's debut album is indie rock, period. Cramming more heat and fiery strings in 29 minutes than the worst Chi-town summer heat wave, it is an exceptional album that has rekindled my love for new music, artists, and the power of strong songwriting fused with a great groove. At times I think it's hard to find new music and artists under the radar. The reality is there are plenty of them but very few great ones. Bands who spend hours laboring over song arrangements, the humble drum fill, scratching out their favorite lyrics to better serve the song's truest form. Harvey Fox is one of these great bands, their song forms and arrangements sound natural, improvisational but never blindly without thought.
A.T.T.F. casually introduces the listener to the band's sound of warm guitars and doubled vocal tracks laid over a tight rhythm section of bass and drums. Suntitled provides a moment of calmness before plunging into the meat and bones of the album. Uh-Uh is pop gold and Mannequin showcases some of the best songwriting on the album. The second half reaches from the band's rock/pop foundation into the indie/punk genres. The violent rampaging of the singer at wit's end in Lose My Mind leads gives way to the haunting cries and guitar howls of Mammoth before Dance Like Everybody's Watching You leaves the listener craving for more. Eight tracks is all we get from these fellas right now. If there's one thing this album fails to do justice to, it's just how intoxicatingly fun it is watching these guys play live! Their current set consists of PMFTSK tracks as well as some of new, not released material. Visit their site, buy their album on bandcamp, and catch their next show. No sadness required. It's always a party with Harvey Fox!
