Friday, October 31, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Girl About Town review
Nice reveiw from Philly's Girl About Town blog:
November should prove to be quite a busy month for local heroes Like A Fox, who release their new long-awaited album on October 28th. With their CD release show at Johnny Brenda's on November 8th, and a Tric Town appearance at everyone's favorite Delaware venue Mojo 13 on November 15th, the band will be gearing up for two great shows and pleasing fans both new and old. The occasion for all the hoopla is "Where's My Golden Arm?", an album already garnering high praise for its guitar pop goodness. The band's second full length release was an exercise in handiwork, as they built their own studio with their own hands, then recorded their own album (yes, with their own hands too). Their hand crafted approach is well documented on the band's blog. Mixing was handled by Miner Street's Brian McTear, himself providing a hands-on approach. Is that why there's a golden hand on the cover art? No really, frontman Jay Laughlin (guitar, vox) commissioned his brother to do the fantastic artwork for the new album. Joining Jay in Like A Fox is Brian Wilkinson (bass), Jeff Scioli (guitar, keys), Dave Grubb (keys, guitar), and Pete Girgenti (drums).
The opening notes of "Where's My Golden Arm?" sounds like "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt.1" (Flaming Lips) but then later breaks out in guitar solo heaven. Besides the overt Lips sound, the album is filled with lots of glorious power pop, Matthew Sweet style, with some synth overtones. Therefore there are some 60s style guitar riffs, some 90s style heavy bass, and high nasal vocals. We love "Heard the Shot", which covers all bases as far as guitars and synth goes. And "Gold" is pretty great too, with the emphasis more on the electronic elements - that song gives us goosebumps. Overall the album has a specific, tangible and cohesive sound which doesn't let us down once. Make sure you catch Like A Fox in Philly or Wilmington very soon!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The Walrus!
Here's what the Walrus had to say:
It's been a while since we last heard from Jay Laughlin and Like A Fox, the Philly/Jersey offshoot of much loved 90's psych band Lenola. Thankfully for us, they have returned with a shiny new record entitled Where's My Golden Arm. Yay!
LAF's first record was a breezy mix of Flaming Lips and late 70's Beach Boys psychedelia and although I have yet to hear the new record in full, the half rock-out and half bliss-out track "Internal/External" is tickling my eardrums aplenty. Awesome video directed by ex-Lenola member Scott Colan to boot!
Click it!
It's been a while since we last heard from Jay Laughlin and Like A Fox, the Philly/Jersey offshoot of much loved 90's psych band Lenola. Thankfully for us, they have returned with a shiny new record entitled Where's My Golden Arm. Yay!
LAF's first record was a breezy mix of Flaming Lips and late 70's Beach Boys psychedelia and although I have yet to hear the new record in full, the half rock-out and half bliss-out track "Internal/External" is tickling my eardrums aplenty. Awesome video directed by ex-Lenola member Scott Colan to boot!
Click it!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
NPR
So we received some love from NPR's "second stage". I think it's an on-line (podcast-able) only type deal.
Here's what they had to say about the new album:
NPR.org, October 21, 2008:
Like a Fox is a psychedelic rock band based in Philadelphia and founded in 2004 by former Lenola singer Jay Laughlin. After gathering four other musicians for the group, including ex-Lenola guitarist Dave Grubb, Like a Fox released its self-titled debut album in 2006, and is set to release Where's My Golden Arm? at the end of this month.
Where's My Golden Arm? opens with "A Feeling That Launched a Thousand Wars," and, like much of the album, the track features earnestly sung vocals interspersed with moments of soaring and rocking electric guitar. A few songs later, the head-bopping, hand-clapping "Night Person" struts along and begs to be danced to, while the melodic "Gold" is a gorgeous, synth-driven piece.
Overall, Where's My Golden Arm? is a carefree 40 minutes of music. Although Laughlin's boyish voice can begin to sound less charming and a bit whinier halfway through the record, Like a Fox's latest could be ideal for those craving a lighthearted listen.
Click here to see the write up on the web.
Click here to hear the talk up of the tune they played. I think i might have to sample this intro for our up coming shows!
Here's what they had to say about the new album:
NPR.org, October 21, 2008:
Like a Fox is a psychedelic rock band based in Philadelphia and founded in 2004 by former Lenola singer Jay Laughlin. After gathering four other musicians for the group, including ex-Lenola guitarist Dave Grubb, Like a Fox released its self-titled debut album in 2006, and is set to release Where's My Golden Arm? at the end of this month.
Where's My Golden Arm? opens with "A Feeling That Launched a Thousand Wars," and, like much of the album, the track features earnestly sung vocals interspersed with moments of soaring and rocking electric guitar. A few songs later, the head-bopping, hand-clapping "Night Person" struts along and begs to be danced to, while the melodic "Gold" is a gorgeous, synth-driven piece.
Overall, Where's My Golden Arm? is a carefree 40 minutes of music. Although Laughlin's boyish voice can begin to sound less charming and a bit whinier halfway through the record, Like a Fox's latest could be ideal for those craving a lighthearted listen.
Click here to see the write up on the web.
Click here to hear the talk up of the tune they played. I think i might have to sample this intro for our up coming shows!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
"Internal/External" Video! Check it!!
A sweet video for the song "Internal/External", track two off our new album "Where's My Golden Arm?" made by our good friend Scott Colan.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Some Early Reviews
So the reviews are starting to come in….Some bands claim to not read their own press, I call bullshit. I read it. Not exactly sure what to make of some of it, but so far so good. Here is the first two reviews to come through:
Review #1..
Like A Fox - Where's My Golden Arm?
(CD, Transit of Venus, Pop)
Okay now...what the hell is going on here...? Is this The Flaming Lips doing covers of The Beatles...or what?!? Odds are that you will have the same reaction when you hear the lead track ("A Feeling That Launched A Thousand Wars") on this album. The tune begins with the vocalist singing the word "Happiness" in exactly the same way the word was sung in "Happiness Is A Warm Gun." But before there could be any possible copyright infringement, the tune quickly takes off in another direction avoiding any possible legal consequences. This clever ploy reminds us of the approach taken by The Pooh Sticks in the 1990s when they were stealing obvious lyric lines from familiar tunes...but only short snippets so that they couldn't really be accused of anything illegal. But back to Like A Fox... Fortunately the initial gimmick is the only real gimmick on this album. The remainder of Where's My Golden Arm? is anything but a joke. This Philadelphia-based band comes up with a wealth of super hummable pop tunes here...all smooth and absorbing...and the songs hold up extremely well to repeated spins. The band's music sounds like a more pop-oriented version of the previously mentioned band The Flaming Lips. We are particularly taken with "Internal/External," "On The Way," and "Been Sitting Here" (a particularly significant tune). Neat stuff. (Rating: 5+ out of 6)
Check it out on the web here .
Review #2
Like a Fox
Where's My Golden Arm?
(Transit of Venus)
Wonderfully raucous indie rock that borrows just enough from the Flaming Lips (1988-present and all that entails) to throw a spacey spin into the grooves.
There are plenty of laptop, glam and new wave elements thrashing around with the raggedy guitars and sing-song choruses. The lyrics wander off and sometimes never come back. But somehow, someway, the songs manage to come together by the time they finish.
It's a close thing at times, but I kinda like that sort of dramatic tension. And the tangents are so pretty (not to mention loopy) that it's hard not to enjoy the sideshow.
Like a Fox runs along the edge of disaster for almost this entire album. And every time, the band stays on the side of good music. This has to be intentional. If these guys didn't know what they were doing, this album would be a complete mess. I like the way they think.
Check it out here .
So far the best line is "Like a Fox runs along the edge of disaster for almost this entire album." Makes us sound "dangerous"! Feel free to point out your favorite lines in the comment section. More to come soon!
-j
Review #1..
Like A Fox - Where's My Golden Arm?
(CD, Transit of Venus, Pop)
Okay now...what the hell is going on here...? Is this The Flaming Lips doing covers of The Beatles...or what?!? Odds are that you will have the same reaction when you hear the lead track ("A Feeling That Launched A Thousand Wars") on this album. The tune begins with the vocalist singing the word "Happiness" in exactly the same way the word was sung in "Happiness Is A Warm Gun." But before there could be any possible copyright infringement, the tune quickly takes off in another direction avoiding any possible legal consequences. This clever ploy reminds us of the approach taken by The Pooh Sticks in the 1990s when they were stealing obvious lyric lines from familiar tunes...but only short snippets so that they couldn't really be accused of anything illegal. But back to Like A Fox... Fortunately the initial gimmick is the only real gimmick on this album. The remainder of Where's My Golden Arm? is anything but a joke. This Philadelphia-based band comes up with a wealth of super hummable pop tunes here...all smooth and absorbing...and the songs hold up extremely well to repeated spins. The band's music sounds like a more pop-oriented version of the previously mentioned band The Flaming Lips. We are particularly taken with "Internal/External," "On The Way," and "Been Sitting Here" (a particularly significant tune). Neat stuff. (Rating: 5+ out of 6)
Check it out on the web here .
Review #2
Like a Fox
Where's My Golden Arm?
(Transit of Venus)
Wonderfully raucous indie rock that borrows just enough from the Flaming Lips (1988-present and all that entails) to throw a spacey spin into the grooves.
There are plenty of laptop, glam and new wave elements thrashing around with the raggedy guitars and sing-song choruses. The lyrics wander off and sometimes never come back. But somehow, someway, the songs manage to come together by the time they finish.
It's a close thing at times, but I kinda like that sort of dramatic tension. And the tangents are so pretty (not to mention loopy) that it's hard not to enjoy the sideshow.
Like a Fox runs along the edge of disaster for almost this entire album. And every time, the band stays on the side of good music. This has to be intentional. If these guys didn't know what they were doing, this album would be a complete mess. I like the way they think.
Check it out here .
So far the best line is "Like a Fox runs along the edge of disaster for almost this entire album." Makes us sound "dangerous"! Feel free to point out your favorite lines in the comment section. More to come soon!
-j
Release Date For "WMGA" is 10.28!!
Here's what the cover looks like:
Looks pretty sweet! Click on the image to see it a bit better.
Looks pretty sweet! Click on the image to see it a bit better.
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