If you like Brand New and Manchester Orchestra, the Exeter three-piece Black Foxxes are sure to grab your attention. With post-punk melodies woven with a Nirvana-esque lyrical style, the upcoming Pines makes me think of Brand New’s The Devil and God are raging Inside Me (2006) – especially songs such as “You Won’t Know”.
Opening track “You Gotta Grow” interlocks headwrecking brutality with guitar-heavy riffs not unlike Pulled Apart by Horses. It’s hard to believe Black Foxxes are a three piece; their sound is deliciously full and intelligently delivers the bands’ jumps from melody to breakdowns. “Home” and “River” are refreshing in the sense they further develop in sound, further impressing me with Mark Holley’s vocal range and the rest of the band’s (Tristan Jane and Ant Thornton) musicianship skill as a whole.
However, standout track is “River”. It’s as dark in unpredictability as it is deep in emotion, and its fresh live sound is captured so well it felt like Black Foxxes were gigging in my room. Full of hooks, breakdowns, comedowns and beautiful noise , Pines is going to excite the UK music scene – Pines is so diverse, so brilliant, it could be played from front to back and the audience would eat it up without breathe.
