Feeding The Foxes

Feeding the Foxes is a band from the land of Andre 3000 and Big Boi.

Active as a musical entity for a little over two years now, this band is a unit of very hardworking individuals; look at the roster of bands that they've played with in such a short period of time, and also at the way that they nail the complex material they write.

The group's sound is quite interesting. These guys are definitely hipped to the developments that have rippled through the postmetal underground in the last few years, including rhythmic deconstruction, odd time signatures, irregular phrase groupings, abrupt shifts, and a mix of testures, from clean toned to highly distorted.

Their guitarist Colin is a jazz guitar major, and he's put his hours and hours of shedding altered modes to great use here. The phrasing is wild. I hear something of sixties free jazz in there; the rhythmic quality of his phrasing is at times akin to Coltrane's "sheets of sound" approach that critic Ira Gitler picked up on in the fifties.

His rappour with the drummer (Matt) has that same quality. Listen to "Interstellar Space" by Coltrane or even "Bells" by Albert Ayler and you'll get the idea. While there is generally more of an emphasis on "straight" timing, there is also a lot of phrasing going on in the drumming that mirrors and reacts to Colin's phrasing.

A perfect example of this is the live Vimeo clip of "Scott Stapp the Man, not Scott Stapp the band." At certain points during that song, the drummer is imitating Colin's phrasing, almost exactly. On a side note, there are two vocalists on stage during that performance, but only one is listed in the lineup.

This band is one of the more rhythmically adventurous outfits I have heard in a while. There is something akin to the Locust's "loose-but-tight" approach to phrasing, but given Colin's whole approach comprising a huge dose of linear thinking in the form of lightning fast scalar and arpeggio material, this lends a sprawling, open-ended quality to the forms.

A perfect example is what might be termed the "B" section of "EraseCreateReplace," a song with a very long title. After blasting out of the gate with some intensive power chord/ scalar riffs backed up by an onslaught of loose, scattershot drumming, the band dies away, and Chaz the vocalist starts intoning about pollution in a low voice. Then the band kicks in. When the guitar resumes, Colin's solution to move matters along is very interesting.

The first thing we hear is a blazingly fast scalar run, sounding something like 32nd note quintuplets, executed flawlessly. The resulting triangular shape of the phrase broadens the whole section of the song, the ascending and descending contour imparting a sense of temporal expansion.

This phrase lurches directly into the next short section, which is a bit of less distinct connecting passagework, play with deadon rhythmic accuracy. Unless I am completely mistaken, the rhythmic profile of the ostinato-like guitar part of the section after that is an extension of the connecting passage, smoothed out and given a more streamlined profile, so as to serve as a more stable accompaniment. It's sort of like Paganini, but on drugs.

One thing I was given to understand is that the bassist on the recordings is not Dave, the bass player listed as being in the band. What is interesting is that I was told that he is a lefty and plays six-string. Even more interesting is the fact that he plays what Colin plays, "but with more rhythm." So, to me that means that the rhythmic concept of this band has taken even greater strides forward.

Musically, the band wants to make "honest music for a long time to come", and we should all show our support in this respect. The band doesn't have any albums out, but they do have a demo and are featured on a compilation. Both can be downloaded for free at their MySpace page. And, for those interested, they have a few shows coming up in the Georgia area. If you like it loud and progressive, you'll want to check these guys out.

Check 'em out at:


www.myspace.com/feedingthefoxes