Fox North Coalition - A Block For The Wigs (Album Review)
Thursday, 02 May 2013
Written by Mark Wincott
If you want something dirty, something grimy with a helluva lot of blues and a lot of rock then go ahead and check out 'A Block For The Wigs' by Fox North Coalition, these guys come together from the split of former band Hijak Oscar. The genre they have given us is Roots Ridden Americana Swamp Blues, and all the way from York in the UK.
With their influences from such greats at Tom Waits, Springsteen, Nirvana and many many more this 14-track album by an unsigned band is pure quality while at the same time it’s shocking that these guys are not with a label.
I have the luxury of telling you that I have the two Hijak Oscar albums and the fact I once saw them live at the borderline in London. To hear they split was horrible for me, it’s horrible to see talent not utilised, but Fox North Coalition were formed.
Track 1 a gentle way to introduce what we are going to go through with 'Pleading for Sympathy', the instruments aligned with Mr Fox’s amazing vocal talent we have a record that I, this reviewer has been waiting for, we also get much more, which you will hear by opening your ears.
We venture, drifting off to track 4 'An Eye for an Eye', with tense angst vocals with the guitar playing alongside, “Can’t find a drug to make it all drift away” is the painful lyrics that I felt, It meant something when I heard them, it is played with intense emotion, this is needed to be heard by all, If I did have to say a stand out track for me, then it would be 'An Eye for an Eye'.
Fox North Coalition chose to make a cover track, that track is Steve Earle’s 'Cckmp', lyrics such as “cocaine cannot kill my pain, whiskey’s got no hold on me”...which I believe is written due to his addiction issues. Fox North covered this, made it sound fresh, a brand new tune, they owned it, they made it their own.
'A Perfect Day to Chase Tornadoes' slows the record down to a pace that lets the thoughts catch back up, in some way it’s like the recovering of a come down, unable to move, but with the mind finally settling down, I felt like I was a midst of a haze. This is what was needed for that moment, the words flowing from Mr Fox, whose vocals are second to none.
While the record continues, each song just gets stronger and stronger, 'Don’t Ride That Horse', 'Blackwater Girl' and 'Meloncholy Tree' along with 'Vampire' are such beautiful songs.
Go ahead, check out 'A Block for the Wigs' and see for yourself, the talent these guys possess, I personally haven’t felt this way about an album for a long time. You like it dirty, ridden dark blues with rock? This is what you have been waiting for. Talent like this shouldn’t be left on the shelf; it needs to be shown to the world.
'A Block for the Wigs' which is available off the band's website via download. You can also check out their official Facebook page for more details. Fox North Coalition need to be opened up for all to see.
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With their influences from such greats at Tom Waits, Springsteen, Nirvana and many many more this 14-track album by an unsigned band is pure quality while at the same time it’s shocking that these guys are not with a label.
