Fashioned at home with a guitar and a PC, the 11 tracks here are a living, breathing arena rock show. Imbued by the spirit of U2, Coldplay and REM; this is a big, moving sound that could have you queuing for your own toilet.

11 MP3 Songs
POP: British Pop, ROCK: Acoustic



Details:
Fox
The Dream lp

Fitted wardrobes, a nice wicker clothes basket, the odd stuffed antelope; there are plenty of Linda Barkertastic ways to tart up your bedroom. But by the look of this lp from Penkridge singer/songwriter/samplemeister Fox, heâs taken it to extremes and transformed his humble abode into a 60,000-seater stadium. Fashioned at home with a guitar and a PC, the 11 tracks here are a living, breathing arena rock show. Imbued by the spirit of U2, Coldplay and REM; this is a big, moving sound that could have you queuing for your own toilet.

Kicking off with a single earthquaking Pete Townsend power chord, âOne Thousand Ways (To Kick A Habit)â sets a high ante from the outset. Bursting with energy, this driving Stonesy rocker could take on anything by Jet or The Datsuns. âGone Too Farâ is a similarly colourful slice of rifferama that wouldnât be out of place soundtracking the latest Maserati test drive on Top Gear. But itâs on âDo You Knowâ that Foxâs rock shapes truly take on Boeing 747 proportions. With shining guitar licks, galloping drums, a vocal that sounds like a less pretentious Bono and The Mother Of All Choruses, this is the consummate epic pop record. Previously reviewed on overplay as a single, âDo You Knowâ still stands out as a highlight.

By the time we arrive at âFeeling Sorry For Myselfâ however, we get a more representative taste of the album. The mid-paced melancholy exudes lazy charm with restrained electro beats, sparse piano and steel guitar. And itâs these subtle touches that help to bring a soulful edge to the quirky country ballad âItâs Alright,â streamlined rocker âIâll Get By On Love,â the fuzzily spiritual âTimeâ and the fractured acoustica of âDreamsâ (albeit with a dirty great punked out chorus). The most affecting example of this frazzled folk, though, has to be âThe Day Is Hers.â Low-key strumming and chopped up beats evoke the hip hop psychedelia of the Jay Z/Beatles hybrid, âThe Gray Album,â while a simple vocal about the âface that lights up my darkest dayâ manages a triumph of sincerity over schmaltz.

The sleek, spooky space rocker âClear Skyâ is one of the few tracks that lets the electronics move in to the foreground; but itâs on the closing bonus track, â99 Myself,â that Fox loosens his grip on the controls just a bit. And itâs well worth it. Gnarled aggro folk strumming plays off against a bouncing acid house beat and Foxâs own helium Bee Gees backing vocals. Technologyâs a wonderful thing, but it sometimes helps to throw in a bit of good old fashioned weirdness.


by overplay