First off, some information Fox, Red is an international project featuring members from Germany, the USA and, crucially for the purposes of LSF, Sheffield. The Sheffield based member is Thomas Bower; the Thomas in Thomas and The Empty Orchestra who I last reviewed in 2020. That done, let’s dive in.
The band themselves describe themselves as being ‘international indie sound’; I beg to disagree. Yes, there’s the chiming ‘indie’ guitar and the slow/faster structure but ‘Every Crack a Canyon’ is slowed right down, the frantic tempo of Indie replaced with a building atmospheric feel. Carefully placed, and played, guitars are layered into a visual soundscape that’s all about mood and emotion. Can something this achingly beautiful be described with the word ‘Indie’? I suggest atmospheric guitar rock as an alternative.
Here I need to circle back to something I said about the guitars being ‘carefully placed’. What I meant by this is that the track is made up of layers of different guitar sounds. There is a chiming guitar, a guitar that growls, a guitar that provides this gentle highlight and more; it’s an orchestra of guitar. And as the track builds gorgeous bursts of extra vocals are added. And over this, and part of it, is a voice. A voice that seems at times to be almost speaking the words rather than singing. The voice, like the music, is about dynamics. It’s all about the build, the swell of sound in density and volume. It’s this that reached in and takes a hold of your soul.
‘Every Crack a Canyon’ is an atmospheric and cinematic slow burner of a song that burns with a beauty that hurts. This is my new addiction.
The info
Fox, Red is an international project featuring members from Sheffield (UK), North-
Rhine Westphalia (DE) and Washington State (USA). Formed initially as a folk/alt-country duo, the band expanded its membership as a result of contact through the tattoo, punk and spoken word scenes in the UK and Germany.
Fox, Red carries an enthusiasm for storytelling and dark narratives that has evolved into an atmospheric and theatrical indie sound, reminiscent of bands like The National, Death Cab for Cutie, Interpol and Arcade Fire.
The group released their first single, ‘White Horses’, in September 2024.
The band plans to release an EP and tour across Europe and the UK in 2025.
Fox, Red is:
Thomas Bower (vocals/guitar)
André Deutscher (guitar)
Alina Weber (drums)
Randi Köppl (bass).
