“Dichotomy”, the first full-length album by Lansing, Michigan’s loud indie punk rockers FOXGRAVE (ex FOXHOLE), is scheduled for the official release on March 22nd on Smog Moon Recordings, and today we’re thrilled to give you its first full listen below! While still creating an exceptional marriage between powerpop vibes and harsh, grungy indie punk, FOXGRAVE has founded countless new ways to hold our attention: deploying an emboldened melodic arsenal and enough power to light up your hearts and get your feet moving!
In conjunction with the premiere, the band sat down to share their thoughts on the inspiration, or apparent meaning of each of the album’s individual songs, and here’s what they had to say! Scroll down to check it out.
From the small town dystopia of Mid-Michigan comes Foxgrave. Featuring clever guitar interplay characteristic of sophisticated indie rock, Foxgrave is also unafraid of big, loud pentatonic guitar solos à la Dinosaur Jr. The drums and bass are tight and booming, providing a solid landscape for textural melodies. Foxgrave takes the accessible elements of modern pop punk (Title Fight, The Wonder Years) and boils them back down to the influences of primordial ‘90s emo groups like Jawbreaker and Pinkerton-era Weezer. Foxgrave have been playing shows around the Mid-west since late 2017 while honing their sound and writing their debut LP, “Dichotomy”, out March 22nd on Smog Moon Recordings. Preorders are now available at smogmoonrecordings.bandcamp.com.
FFO: Samiam, Alkaline Trio, and Latterman.
Upcoming shows:
4/20 – Lansing, MI – Stoopfest
5/18 – Chicago, IL at the Burlington Bar w/ the Grool Brothers, Mollow, and Gosh Diggity.
You And Your Friends Are Dead
This song is about people pursuing money and acceptance instead of their passion. The title is based on a terrible Nintendo game from the ‘80s, Friday the 13th. Ironically enough, the lyrics in the chorus, “We’re all fucking failures because we got no degrees,” were written by the only person in the band with a college degree
Kill The Man
Every band has written a song about their shitty day job. The working-person’s song is something that any self respecting group has to make because we all start at the bottom; pulling our way up through our busy days and long nights. The “droning dead-end job” song is a standard, not a cliche, and this is a good example of one.
Uppr
This is Skyler’s first chance to slam a lead on the album, and what a way to come in swinging. The Jawbreaker-inspired riff really drives through and expresses the overall mood of the lyrical content — continuing for the sake of survival despite self created obstacles.
High and Disowned
Any drug user inevitably finds themselves at a crossroads with their loved ones. Usually, it’s an ultimatum, “stop using, or we’re done.” A sensible person would kick their habits. The character in this song does the opposite.
Bottom Teeth
It’s about making choices despite judgment from other people, including your past self. Everybody does things they said they would never do; things they aren’t proud of and things they never thought they could. We all have different passions and vices. We all hold different ideas closely.
Departure
The remedy to feeling alienated by your friends sometimes appears to be saying “fuck it,” dropping everything and heading out on your own. Surely there are people in your life you would never leave behind. This song explores the side of you that desperately wants to set out alone and start over, no matter who or what you’re abandoning.
The Pines
The Pines is a reference to a grimy, mediocre apartment complex where we spent a good chunk of our high school days. At its core, it’s an odd to hopelessness, pointless mischief and a complete lack of direction as you creep into adulthood.
Nietzsche Song
Fast and to the point. The only way to live life. We all exist on this spinning speck of dust floating in an endless void for no good reason. Deal with it.
Binding
We tend to have a song on each of our releases that dabbles in freeform poetry. This was inspired by the more sinister aspects of nature, school, religion and the passage of time — all things that can act as a binding force on your humanity. It also addresses the concept of social performance, meaning you are molded into who you are by outside experiences and influences — whether you like it or not.
Dichotomy
There isn’t a more clear example of a dichotomous relationship than that between science and religion. Our songs are often upbeat with dark lyrics. We wanted a song that reflected the clashing of ideas. The beginning of the song is driving and abrasive while the end is mid-tempo and hopeful. We felt that it was a good way to close our freshman album.
