Foxx Bodies – Vixen

Vixen, Foxx Bodies sophomore album, follows their self-titled debut released way back in 2016 when the world had no idea of the storm that was about to hit through 2020 and 2021. Vixen was written pre-pandemic but records need funding and things get in the way but the wait has been well worth it. Full of anger, a full on, in your face statement shedding light on the issues that, even today, society often prefers to turn a blind eye to. Addiction, gender identity crisis, mental health issues and sexual abuse. In their own words Foxx Bodies “make music to remind people they aren’t alone, that we aren’t alone”.

Much of their debut contained huge garage surf-rock influences. ‘Vixen’ has moved away from these and instead packs in pulverising drums and enormous riffs that one minute grind straight into you then suddenly give way to subtle guitar sounds. Opener ‘Bad Kid’, the album’s lead single, is a crashing, bitter tale of suffering years of parental put downs. “I’ve been a bad kid. My mom tells me I’m wrong” and later “Your love is bullshit. You are a piece of shit”. ‘Vixen’ is punk rock from beginning to end. Whether it’s the caustic, hard hitting rock n roll of ‘Wind’, the carnivalesque rhythm of BPD and it’s no hold bars, venomous stab at misogynists as vocalist Bella Vanek states “I can see my tits bouncing up and down in your mind” or the grinding, impassioned throbbing of ‘Room’ and her take no shit stance on femininity and those who might be ridiculed for being who they are. 

Whether the pace is a more subtle, foot tapping, sway your body with understated guitar riffs as heard on tracks like ‘Monsoon Surf Club’ and ‘Ana Mia’, upbeat 60’s dance influenced beats like ‘Breakfast’ or the wild, frenzied assault of ‘Runaway’ it’s the lyrical content of ‘Vixen’ that really hits hard. Honest, brutal, from the heart and a no holds barred statement about the shit that some people go through. Unlike some of the musical background one thing this album’s lyrics aren’t is subtle and it’s all the better for it. Some people like to sweep things under the carpet, turn a blind eye, pretend it doesn’t exist so they don’t have to deal with it. Bella Vanek, Bailey Moses (guitar), Matt Vanek (bass) and Adam Bucholz (drums) have bonded together through severe distress, pain and furious anger to make sure this doesn’t happen. They insist that these things are at the forefront, that people are forced to listen to them. At times it’s a harrowing listen: “Rule number one – don’t tell anyone. Rule number two – don’t fall in love. Rule number three – do not tell anyone”, before the anguished cry of “I was just a baby” runs the narration through the title track.

‘Vixen’ is cathartic. It spits out emotions, pain and anguish in an attempt to annihilate the horrors and bring some relief to anyone who experiences any number of different torments. It’s also a powerful statement that we must all fight to support those that experience such things and come together to make the world a safe, trauma free place for all.

Vixen is released tomorrow, the 5th November, and can be pre-ordered here