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11. I’m Not Well - Black Foxxes (2016)

Rock

Like their UK contemporaries Royal Blood did in 2014, Black Foxxes delivered a massive shot of adrenaline into the modern rock conversation with their 2016 debut I’m Not Well. The album’s punk, post-punk and emo-era influences abound, but never define the album’s sound. They distill the emotion and defiance of these past rock movements into a meticulously refined and thoughtful statement that says more about the future than it does the past. 

Like all the great rock three-pieces before them, each member of Black Foxxes’ triumvirate is well represented within the band’s sonic oeuvre. Noticeable from the jump is the hammer-fisted drumming of ‘Ant’ Thornton, whose heavy-handed percussionist tendencies blur into cathartic bloodletting not dissimilar from a boxer enlisting his punching bag in lieu of a therapist. Mark Holley’s guitar work vacillates gracefully between heavy churning and melodic meandering, always playing off his own vocal delivery which ebbs and flows in turn, often with an emotive waver flavoring the more dramatic crests and contemplative valleys. Bassist Tristan Jane provides the pulse for Thornton and Holley, both following and guiding, always providing depth and breadth of sound for his counterparts to build on. 

Thematically, I’m Not Well is predictably discontented. Influenced in no small part by Holley’s perpetual struggle with Crohn’s Disease and the accompanying anxiety and overall discomfort an affliction like that imparts on someone. The title track alludes to the frequently sizeable amount of rationalization and “self-medication” that justify drug abuse for the abusers. Lyrically sparse, yet effective at painting detailed pictures, the album is a brash and definitive statement that established Black Foxxes at the vanguard of 21st century Rock.

*image; cover art for the album I’m Not Well by Black Foxxes