The Foxies have built their uniquely feral brand of rock 'n' roll out of thrashing punk energy and the hypnotic pageantry of electronic pop. Today, the Nashville-based power trio announced the May 29 release of their EP Growing Up Is Dead with "Call Me When Your Phone Dies," a new single that mixes grunge and second-wave EDM and turns the other cheek on a Rolodex full of wannabe players.
Listen below!
"It's just the ode to all the fboys out there," says frontwoman and band founder, Julia Lauren Bullock of the synth-driven standout, a headbanging masterpiece which crashes through a wall of male-dating privilege. "It's like, 'Hey, listen. I had a night with you, but I shouldn't have. You can't do anything for me, and that's that.'"
Composed of Bullock, guitarist Jake Ohlbaum, and drummer Rob Bodley, The Foxies have built a loyal following through their euphoric live shows and snarling, self-styled recordings, preaching empowerment and sharp-toothed individuality at maximum volume. With their new EP, they've found a brave new creative focus - evidence that rock 'n' roll is very much alive.
"I think rock's just been sleeping for a bit, and it's about time to wake the bear," says Bullock. "And right now we have a very pointy stick."
Producers Alex and Sean Silverman teased out the band's primal instincts during the six-day Nashville recording session that yielded Growing Up Is Dead. Distorted guitar melodies and warbling songbird vocals take on a rabid edge, driven to the breaking point by pounding drums and splashes of synthetic moonlight as the band unveil a sound they affectionately call "Goth Disco." "I'm a very visual person," Bullock explains, "and every song somehow made me think of a vampire nightclub."
There's no debating the punk prowess of tracks like "French Boy," a frantic, full-speed fantasy about leaving life behind for a romantic tryst in the City of Lights. "It's almost like falling in love with a dream," Bullock declares.
Likewise, the "Goth Disco" imagery comes into high definition on "Neon Thoughts," an irresistible call into the pop darkness that culminates with a haunting lyric: "I've got the perfect little coffin for you." "It's very abstract, but basically it's like, 'Oh, you think you can leave me, but I'm going to be a neon sign flashing in your mind all the time," Bullock says with a laugh.
The project marks a new chapter for a band that proudly proclaims that growing up might be dead, but rock sure ain't. To date, they've released two cunning EPs (Oblivion, Battery) and a pair of stand-alone singles ("Be Afraid Boy," "Chewing Gum"), earned attention from Nashville's Native magazine and Lightning 100 radio and made their mark on Volume 63 of NOW That's What I Call Music and at festivals like Sundance, South by Southwest, and Bonnaroo.
The Foxies will be supporting the release on the road later this summer with dates to be announced shortly.
