Image Courtesy of Sophia Mackell
Author: Bridget Benevides
Now, before you begin, I invite you, I encourage you, I implore you to look up Noiz Foxx, find their album and press play. Have you done it? Are you with me? Trust me, it will make this experience much more enjoyable; you can read my review while listening to the very music I am reviewing.
If you know me, you have probably heard me rave about traveling folk singer and storyteller John Craigie. After hearing his music for the first time two years ago, I have come to know his songs, laugh at his live albums and recommend his music to anyone I can. Since then I have met and interviewed him, my sister met him at a show in Santa Cruz, one of my best friends met him at a show in Montana, another friend met him at a hot spring in Northern California, and her boyfriend met him in Chico and just recently my parents saw him live in Sacramento. We all talk about him like he is our fun uncle, regularly referencing his albums and recounting stories of our concert experiences.
So, when he released a collaborative album under the name NoizFoXX, I was more than intrigued. In collaboration with Niko Daoussis, this album combines the most unique elements of some very talented artists to create music worth recognizing.
Not knowing what to expect (but assuming something soft and folky), I clicked play on the first song on the album called “Morning After”. A few seconds of quiet turned into what I can only describe as musical wind, a soft and airy string of notes, followed by a catchy guitar intro. This was pretty on brand with what I was expecting from this album, but about 50 seconds in I was caught off guard by a synthesized voice closely followed by the tssk of a high-hat and the bump of the bass. (At this point I am really hoping you are listening to “Morning After” so you can get the full effect.) Again and again, song after song I was surprised and impressed by how much I loved the music. It helped that I was on a quiet, dark airplane, looking at the clouds that were napping on Mt. Rainier and watching the sunset in the distance.
While I don’t want to compare their music to any other artists because I know it is so uniquely their own, for your sake (if you have chosen not to turn on the album), I will say that I got slight Bon Iver vibes from this music, a little bit of Vancouver Sleep Clinic and some Ben Howard here and there.
The album consists of 10 songs, and very unique song names. It is about 42 minutes long, with some of the pieces being largely instrumental, and some having more of a verbal story. My favorite song on the album is “Morning After” with “Ghost Ink” coming in a close second. I am sure that the more I listen to it, the more I hear the words and the little hidden sounds, others might rise to the top, but currently these two stick out to me.
As my final attempt to summarize the fun and funky, bright and soft, quirky and passionate album that NoizFoXX has graced us with, I will leave you with this:
It is a golden sunset that drips like honey behind the pine trees, it is a classy alien cocktail party, it is a slow motion first kiss, it is a kickback with friends where you can’t help but share secrets, it is hearing their heartbeat in your ear as you lay your head on their chest, it is a dance party waiting to happen, it is looking out at a large body of water, it is accepting your insignificance and finding freedom in it.
Intrigued yet?
Bridget Benevides | What is it to you? | KXSU Music Reporter