A quick PSA: am I going to talk about how the start of this song is strongly reminiscient of Example’s ‘Kickstarts’ riff from 2010, simply minus the higher registers…?
No, I am not, and this is because FOREIGNFOX’s vocalist sings “flowers” like “fleurs” in the chorus, which is so delightfully Scottish that I can only but forgive this minor creative transgression.
With that out of the way, let’s crack on with an ear-centric odyssey of spellbinding critique.
Seriously, listening to that line, “fleurs awn yer burfday,” it’s like having Irn-Bru pressure-sprayed into your cranium. It’s wonderfully familiar and fizzed.
“But, ah,” I hear you say, “is it the original full sugar concoction or the watered-down monstrosity the sugar tax forces us to buy today?” And I would respond by saying, “I don’t think that matters, really, as it’s a completely redundant question given the topic of reviewing music currently at hand, but I might just muddy the waters further and say that, to me, it’s Irn-Bru: Sugar Free.”
Dearest reader, I would like to take this juncture to apologise. I like words (and too many of them at that).
Anyway, FOREIGNFOX are a four-piece chicken bucket- er, I mean, band and they hail from Dunfermline, championing the alternative rock genre as their sonic bastion. Their new single (for that is what this review is about and not my psychotic babbling) is called ‘Birthday Flowers’, hence the phenomenally delivered line highlighted above.
The song opens with “you’re hanging by a thread / that’s wrapped around your neck / until you’re hanging dead” which is, suffice to say, so-far-so-cheerful. That last bit, about all the hanging, is repeated another time for good measure, and I appreciate the band’s resolve there. Given the melodic tone of the song and the brash drumbeats accentuating the crunchy guitars, especially when placed alongside these lyrics, the melancholic intent of the single becomes resolutely clear.
Through the aforementioned lyrics we are introduced to a musical protagonist who aches for someone they hold near and dear, an emotional element brought across by the lead vocals’ genuine delivery. This is by far the most hooking aspect to the track as there is, towards the end of the runtime, the use of the word “brother” by the song’s subject while directly addressing his tormented companion. As a result, ‘Birthday Flowers’ imbues much more possible meaning into its dark weave of pathos than I had previously considered.
…And, I mean, OK, the problem with this mode of critique is that I’m employing personalised hearsay (or “fact devoid self-interpretation” for the kids) which is very stilted. However, as a music fan who is used to the faux-chrome sheen that gilds the wasteland of modern pop, I felt refreshed by the sense of emotion injected into this new release. The production is solid, and there are some foot-tapping moments in there for sure, but the sense of relevance I find in the story of the song is the aspect that draws me most.
The second verse talks briefly about the judgement of others who have not attempted to delve any deeper into another’s problems than merely scratching at the surface. This is done effectively with simple imagery, avoiding anything too overwrought or on the nose in the further development of the song’s theme. All we are given is the sense that somebody is suffering with no discernible help on the way. I have to highlight the introductory lines to the verse for some further context: “You were a danger to yourself / and everybody else.” Given the chorus, with its lines on unexpected flower giving and sad mothers, the whole track packages up a nicely depressing snapshot of what it is to live in today’s society.
Oh, I feel perfectly inadequate as a reviewer going down that simplistic route of analysis, but give me a minute.
According to their social media, FOREIGNFOX describe their music as “cinematic” and determine their musical intent to be the delivery of “an uncompromising commentary on the hopes and fears of the modern individual”. Excuse me as I’m sick into this bucket, what with all the grandiose PR rubbish being flung about here, but I actually can see some truth in these audaciously nauseating words. ‘Birthday Flowers’ – at least to me – is a desperately sad and frustrated piece of art, lyricizing a third-person perspective to (possibly) self-inflicted woes upon someone who is, in some form, family.
Given the state of mental health care in the UK at the time of writing this song does not seem out of place. If anything it could be a musical diagnosis to the everyday hopelessness met by many – plus it’s been a while since I’ve heard a release with genuine heart brimming in the vocalist’s words (let alone a song that’s been mixed in a way so you can actually hear them, but that’s a whole other article).
I don’t want to say much more because, if you haven’t already, you should go and listen to the song yourself and come to your own conclusions. But, yeah, I like this thing. It’s no trendsetter or anything like that but it is affecting, so for that I would recommend it to everyone.
So, my finalised and concise thoughts on the song, I hear you ask…?
Well, though foxes are notoriously sly creatures, FOREIGNFOX are anything but false here (just don’t read their Facebook bio, and especially not after a big lunch).
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