Every now and then, a new band leaps seemingly out of nowhere, and hits the ground running in a miraculous display of musical brilliance and star power, rising to prominence and catching everyone completely off guard. FOXCULT have got all the makings of such a band; their debut EP THE INDIGO FAULT glimmers with fantastic production quality, stellar songwriting, and the kind of emotive outpour that is sure to nurture and instant connection with anyone who happens across this five track collection.
The grungy, distant strumming of guitar, the kicking drums that pick up the pace and lead the track in, ‘EMPTY SPACE’ charges full force into an immediate display of what this band is all about; emotive, atmospheric, passionately crafted post-hardcore, with huge hooks and staggeringly impressive vocals from Audrey Lane. Backdropped by crackly distortion, thumping drums and a mixture of both powerfully heavy and more delicate, ambient guitarwork, ‘EMPTY SPACE’ is about a strong a start to the EP as you could want, in that it feels like a complete revitalisation of post-hardcore, equal parts a love letter and a breath of fresh air to a style of music that, whilst not completely disappeared, has certainly fallen to the wayside in recent years when it comes to more widespread popularity.
Guitarist Ashley Carrera‘s self confessed favourite track from the release ‘CLIFFJUMPER’ continues to dish out a strong catharsis, and features easily the most striking close out on the entire EP, combining elements of shoegaze and progressive metal to build upon itself, up and up until it bursts into a truly magnificent flourish by the song’s end. This leads directly into the sharp exhale that initiates the high octane, aggressive tenacity of ‘SILICONE DREAM’, an unrelenting barrage of energy that gives way only when culminating in an ethereal chorus of gargantuan proportion, as if being addressed by some cosmic entity in the far reaches of space.
“Have everything it takes to become one of the most revered and beloved bands of an entire generation of new artists”
Speaking of cosmic entities, if you delve deeper into the band’s lyrics, you’ll find clues that hint at a bigger picture yet to be revealed; “A chasm of colours I’ll never climb out, so far from Earth but so close to myself”, there’s whisperings of some sort of sci-fi lore going on here, sewn within the words of ‘GLACIER’, perhaps the most clear indication that there’s a wider scope to the music that FOXCULT are making. This is something the band have touched on with the way they tease upcoming news, but it’s particularly prominent in ‘GLACIER’, another track that comes bearing a huge chorus and an exceptional balance between delicacy and aggression, though it leans more heavily on the former in this instance.
Final track ‘SYMMETRY’ draws open with soft piano and synths, an 80s-esque soundscape of celestial chimes that linger throughout the track’s six minutes, closing the EP with a beautifully crafted experience just as strong as its beginning moments. The consistency of the five tracks present on this release, coupled with FOXCULT‘s penchant for emotion, attention to detail and high production value songwriting should have them recognised as instant darlings of post-hardcore, and the wider alternative scene.
The release of THE INDIGO FAULT may have arrived late in the year, but it serves as an exceptional leaping off point for what stands to be a very eventful year ahead for FOXCULT. This incredible band of trans women feels like they have everything it takes to become one of the most revered and beloved bands of an entire generation of new artists, the powerful, inspiring significance of a band releasing music of such a high quality so early in their career, and before they’ve even played their first live show is utterly remarkable. Give them a bit more time to get their name out there, and there’ll people saying “FOXCULT are my favourite band” all across the globe.