7-INCH REVIEWED BY ATLANTIS MEDIA
The following is a review of the 7-inch double A-side by Tim Stubbs from Atlantis Media. You can view the original review here.
I’m just going to be blatantly honest. I love Black Fox to bits. Dane Robertson and the boys have put in more work in six months in the infancy of this band than a lot of bands have done in five years.
From their pavement graffiti promotion to their slick album and website design these guys mean business but do they back it up musically?
I got my DJ housemate to show me how to use his expensive record player and loaded up Day In Lieu…
Now to be honest me and this song have a history. Months ago I was down at The Workers Club seeing The Harlots for about the fifth time in a row (because they’re awesome) and I was told about this band Black Fox and that Dane the lead singer is a very driven and talented guy. Having just started booking bands for Red Bennies I was keen to see how they went. They opened with Day In Lieu that night and within a minute I leaned to my girlfriend Julia and said “booked”. We did, and they played to a 200+ crowd and they loved every moment of it, you can see them in action here.
It frustrates me so much trying to work out just who these guys sound like, but it’s somebody great, and it has you wanting to groove and bop. Day In Lieu takes you up and down and for the first part of the song you feel like they almost take you there and then let you off, then do it again, as if they’re teasing you with something and you know it’s really great but they just don’t give it to you straight away. Then about two thirds through the song it climax’s with a full band yelled chorus that works perfectly from the build up. This is repeated as the song fades out leaving you very musically satisfied, love this track to bits.
Day In Lieu 4.5/5
On the B-Side Monarch is a slower offering. Not as powerful or as much of a winner as Day In Lieu but shows the band’s ability to do a slower song while still keeping a strong groove. Dane has a very capable voice that can do the 70’s esque yells and drawing out of the vocals required to pull off this type of groove rock. I wrote 3/5 for this track, but after listening again and hearing the saxophone, WOW, ending makes up for a less impactful start.
Monarch 4.5/5
I think these guys are going to go big much sooner than you’d expect a band about a year old. This is due mainly to these boys having played together in previous incarnations of the current lineup minus a few faces, but that’s the past, the future is Black Fox, and it’s looking good.
Well done boys.
Tim
