Foxy consists of LP (vocals), Greg Antista (guitar), Stu West (bass) and Richie Mendez (drums) and plays music that sounds so familiar, that it's like if I know the ten songs on Tonight Tonight ever since the second half of the70s, when the first bands playing this kind of music came into vogue, starting with The Ramones.
The strange thing is, I did not like the records at the time at all. That slowly but surely changed because of the second big punk wave of the mid 90s. Because of Green Day and The Offspring I started to backpaddle and bought The Ramones cds and others. The punkfunk craze led by Franz Ferdinand in 2004-05 did the rest. And then Lou Mansdorf of Rum Bar Records crossed my digital path and the rest is history.
Foxy released its first EP in 1999 and only lost one member in the past 25 years plus. After a 2001 album, things went quiet until 2018 and just when the band had found its stride again things happened to the whole world. That did provide the option to write the new songs we can hear today. And they are steaming!
All songs beg singing along to. Greg Antista plays riffs and solos, assisted in the solos by others, as if they were only invented yesterday. LP sings with a nice sneer in her voice and the men sing to her in answer and support. Behind it all is a wall of sound erected by the rhythm section and a host of rhythm guitars. The single 'Rock And Roll Crime' may be my favourite at this moment but I'm not sure whether a song like 'Promise' will not overtake it pretty soon.
If anything, what strikes me is the fun that Foxy must have had creating these songs. They must have known that they had punk gold in their hands. Yes, Rum Bar has a few bands like Foxy on its roster, like Watts and The Shang Hi Los. Foxy has just as much melody but but certainly is louder and a bit wilder. The pop feel is there, as the songs are meant to please, yet, more in style of the early Blondie, the one of before 'Parallel Lines'. Listen to 'Overrated' to hear what I mean.
Tonight Tonight is another point of proof that it's still possible to write great songs in a genre where everything seems to have been said and done. Surprises all around, were it not that Rum Bar has an uncanny nose for the best bands in this genre. Bands most people have never heard if, but should. Foxy is one of those. Things do not get much better.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
You can listen to and order Tonight Tonight here:
https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/tonight-tonight
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