By Chris McLafferty 

Foxy brings its trumpets to the party and shows off its diversity of hot, wild crazy fun.

This writer has gone Gonzo for Foxy since the hellacious dudes in Cadaver Dogs and the Up All Nights introduced me to them. Their live performance is an 8th wonder of the world that must be seen to understand. The band lives music and wants you to as well. Their newest album, the one you are reading about, can be had for free from their BandCamp and their newest tour is on sale for only $12!, which includes the Columbus date with the previously mentioned whiskey slamming, blood spraying, ass kickers from beyond hell, Cadaver Dogs. While Church of Rock N Roll was a masterpiece of blacked-out ass-ripping rock, Foxy isn’t content looking in the rear-view. Where as Church was a fierce tornado of guitar and sound destruction (in the most awesome way) barreling into your repetitive singing subconscious, Gonzo seems much more precise and finds other ways to stimulate you into musical bliss focusing more on exclamation than force. Make no mistake, this is still a great shit-storm rock album, it’s just a new monster to let loose.

“Gonzo” kicks off and you know instantly this band isn’t ready to sit still. It’s clear they have something new to unleash. The trumpet raises high as King, which would prove to be an album wide practice, along a jazz storyline full of rumbles that explode with bolts of exclamation. Poem Pathetic is perfect, blending Church’s Adderall pace with a horn infused driven convertible cruise. The beat crashes, wave-style together, in fulfilling glory controlling your nirvana-ed soul like a puppeteer, dancing you through the wonderland being laid down around you with Doctor of Vocal Performance, Eric Nally, as your tour guide into this new terrain. The horns creep, the horns scream, the horns infest your musical lifestyle and like rabies, quickly re-wire your brain to uncontrollable excitement. This song is a drug not to be taken lightly. Have the Fun burns like a hot shot of Whiskey, searing all in its way. But just like Whiskey, what follows is a loud roar of an oddly controlled chaos that synthly boils to a brim. “I’m not scared to die, because I’m already dead,” Nally transforms.

Shoe Box is energized with the ghosts of Foxy passed, with skat-aratic vocals and beautifully haunting pianos that pace the beat which is blasted with arousing Trumpet eruptions that pave the road from past to future. Climaxes like these were made for Oscar-films and porn stars.

Don’t Give In gets rough with alt-rock showcasing a vocal beatdown in the bridge like only Nally can. While the next track, the bassy ballad In This Life, is pulled from the classy jazz club down the street where all the cool sexy people, like Sammy Dodge, go. Harrowing, enlightening, and powerful barely scratch the surface of this magic carpet ride of new chillfully exciting adventures. The bass controls the cruise, the guitar breezes at your face, the drums, obviously, pace the beat and the horns burn radiant, as glowing light from a simmered romantic skyline at pinpoint tranquility. Too many times rock bands feel that power comes from aggressive loudness but Foxy is too smart for that. They know a great journey and even better payoff will bring Hulk and Thor oops we had a baby-like Power to really move you where it matters….inside.

Foxy teaches clinics on beat control and punctuation throughout this exploit of an album. Some bands push for progress, few achieve stunning success while doing so. Foxy Shazam shows it’s no one-trick pony. Quite the opposite, a fearless band bursting with creativity with an Einstein-esque knowledge of all things music. Even while jamming your f’in skull to Mars during Gonzo, you know this band has yet to finish. The build and build continue. This band is capable of anything and won’t stop for repetition turning to banality. Wait for it…this band is far from finishing!

Editor’s note: Chris doesn’t believe in scoring albums since music can be subjective