Olivia Leslie | July 29, 2014

Louisville based band The Foxery has created a song that will make you want to ponder the great questions of life, and rock the fuck out at the same time. This multi-purpose song is “Broken Vessels,” the first single off of The Foxery’s upcoming debut album, Unless.

 

The song starts with heavy drums and feedback, and onto that they add some buzzy guitar riffs. Finally, in come the vocals, rough and rocking, ringing reminiscent of J. Mascis from Dinosaur Jr. They put together layer after layer to create a robust and dynamic sound.

 

Just before the first chorus, the music slows a little, the tone grows darker, and a chorus of “oohs” joins in. While the “oohs” create a nice harmony, they’re too polished and seem out of place next to the raw and powerful main vocals.  As much as I love how multi-dimensional this song is, it probably could have done without this one layer, (or it could have been done a different way that would have worked better).

 

There’s this awesome moment after the first chorus where the band goes quiet—the guitars stay rhythmic and simple, while the singer speaks the lyrics—that goes to show how it’s not the number of layers, but the passion of the players that brings such high energy to the music.

 

Overall though, this song is killer. Each member demonstrates their virtuosity and the band gives listeners a sample of the wide range of the tones and styles it possesses. It’s obvious that this band doesn’t just love what they do but has fun doing it.

 

The song ends pretty abruptly, leading me to believe that though it is great in its own right, this is not a song that should only be heard on its own; it requires the listener to take in the whole album. You better believe I’m looking forward to when Unless drops on September 9th.

 

If you want to listen to the song, you can check it out on Bandcamp or Diffuser.fm. If, like me, you’re interested in the album, you can pre-order an electronic copy on iTunes or pre-order the Vinyl from Spartan Records in varying colors of gold and black. You can check their Facebook and website for tour dates and merch.