Liam Vincent & The Odd Foxes Release A New EP
The brand new EP release from Liam Vincent & the Odd Foxes brings out a lush soundscape that breeds everything from a cinematic backbone, to rustic folk, indie rock, and plenty more in between, all delivered with messages to send, and thick character that you end up getting attached to right from the get-go.
Breath, Blood, & Bone is a record that portrays a lot of musical landscape with layers, depth, stories, personal perspective, and beautiful instrumentation that all managed to come together and deliver this beautiful atmosphere, which can be colorful but also edgy at times.
The very first and title track on the record is an amazing example of how this EP is going to take you on a bit of a journey.
The song opens up with clean guitar and a bountiful, beautiful vocal approach that feels sort of classic in a sense, but also very passionately performed.
You also have violins and strings that come in and out that start a little slower and deliver beautiful melodies that feel almost like a Celtic folk aesthetic, and then the whole song starts gaining more drive.
As the track unfolds, percussion starts coming in, and there is a change in energy. Along with that, you have the guitars getting hit harder, and the string sections coming in and out almost like a haunt, but layering in such a way that thickens up that cinematic underbelly and really pulls you into this almost fantastical world.
This is an outstanding track to open the door to the rest of the release simply because it bears some of the staples that you will hear throughout its course; however, listening to this full record is the only way to go.
There are more than a few surprises around its corners, and if you listen to only one or two tracks, it will give you nowhere near the full spectrum that the whole EP offers.
"Keep Running" is a gorgeous track that follows the first one. This song has more of a homeland, southern, almost Americana approach to it.
The guitars are clean but double-tracked, heading distorted guitars that come in, building on the rock aspect of it all.
Throughout all this, you still have that southern-kissed approach and tonality, which somehow feels warm and welcoming.
Those violins are still riddled throughout this track, but only in certain parts about giving them a more intense feel, and the vocals are melodically thriving and really well balanced dynamically.
This has a more personal feel to it for sure.
To me, this track is more about getting through the struggles that you face in normal life.
All of us have different kinds of struggles or inner thoughts that we battle with at times, whether they're from situations that we have to deal with, or just dealing with ourselves, and you have to push through those. This is a song that, to me, feels like you have to just keep going.
Again, this is how I interpreted it. Others may interpret this differently, and that's part of the beauty of music in general. People take in songs and relate them to their own lives in different ways.
For me, this one spoke volumes because of its premise and what it meant when I heard it.
"Dead End" has a bit of the same feel in terms of its sentiment, but takes a different approach musically. This is more widespread and almost feels like a power ballad in a way. It is a bit outside the box and still utilizes those strings amazingly, but it has a heavier distortion on those guitars, so you have something that hits a little bit harder and has a different kind of impact emotionally. This track feels anthemic.
I definitely am loving how there's very little held back lyrically. The vocals always have a sense of empowerment to them because they speak their mind, and that comes spilling out for all to soak in, which I find brave.
For some, this record can be as political as it is personal, and when you listen carefully, you can tell why.
"A Date With Destiny" follows that one and has a very unique sort of time signature and guitar approach with progressions and chords that are doubled up. One guitar is strumming them while the other one is playing in an arpeggiated version, giving the song a sort of rounded feel.
This is how they're able to make things feel so lush and full-bodied.
They're very attentive to the tones of their instruments and how the mix came through in the end game.
It's those elements that help put you in the moment with the songs so you can feel the emotion behind them. The lyrics can be very in-depth at times and again, can have different meanings to different people, but the music sets those boots perfectly.
The guitar work is definitely one of my favorite aspects across this entire record. It's so very well done, especially in terms of giving certain tracks a boisterous feel, while others can have a more subtle and smooth one.
Another track called "Summer's Secrets" gives me an almost classic rock or even grungy type of feel. It's got a very unique way of performing those verses, and it's pretty hard, but it does so with this sort of catchy pop overtone.
So you can already see that there are a lot of surprises around the corners of this record, and by the time you get halfway through it, you begin to expect the unexpected, but you know the record has this confluence to it. There is a consistency between the songs that feel like they're all fitting together, almost like puzzle pieces.
The closing track on the record is called "Four Thousand Weeks", and this brings back the female lead vocalist and ends the record on such a beautifully full-oriented note.
This one is a perfect example of some of that rustic folk and almost Celtic approach coming back again to close the record out.
All in all, this was a brilliant journey and one that should be heard from beginning to end, all in one shot.
So, take a deep dive into this record as soon as you can and see what it does for you.
