Few bands can be both a winter and a summer but Limerick-based Fox Jaw manage to do just that. Their roots are planted firmly in soul music but with a healthy sprinkling of lighter, melodic beats; making their sound an intriguing combination of the light and the dark, an examination of the conflict within the human psyche. Or, if that is too deep, they make damn fine dark-pop songs! Beginning life as Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters, 2013 saw them make some changes which involved a shorter name, a change of members and a stint of self-imposed isolation to seek out fresh material. Emerging into the dappled light of 2014 armed with new single ‘Kerosene’, an album in the armoury and a reinvigorated spirit, they plan on touring extensively bringing their sound to audiences new and old. Their sophomore album ‘Ghosts Parade’ is released later this year and you can check out our interview with the band and the video from their lead single below.
Sup. There has been a recent name change. What was behind that move?
New year, new us, was time to lose a bit band name weight! It’s very simple really, it was becoming a bit of a tongue twister for new potential fans and press, and anyone who knows us from before, and any existing fan base, always abbreviated it to Fox Jaw already. It also just felt good, that after being essentially dormant in the public eye for a year or so, we can emerge with lots of new beginnings; new material, new name, new band members…
You have been locked away for a year now working on material. What will come of that?
The new material coming out is certainly something we’re the most proud of to date. The new album is called ‘Ghost’s Parade’ and it’ll be out after the summer. We’ve a whole bunch of new singles coming out between now and next year, with a few extra surprises thrown in for good measure.
Can you tell us about the inspiration for the video accompanying your new single ‘Kerosene’.
I (Drummer Shane Serrano) direct the videos myself, and for a lot of my work with the band, when it comes to coming up with ideas, certain visuals come to mind and characters get created when I have certain actors in mind… but for Kerosene, it just started ending up too much like Reservoir Dogs. So, I mentioned it to my friend, Blindboy Boatclub of The Rubberbandits, and he suggested the little twist in the story. I won’t spoil it for ya, you’ll have to check it out for yourselves.
Your new album ‘Ghost’s Parade’ is due for release this year. Has there been much of a progression in your sound since your debut and when can we expect it to “drop” as the cool kids say?
It’ll be dropping after the summer, and it’s definitely a step up from what people have heard before, especially in production. We’re not a completely different band, there’s plenty of material that people will be able to connect the dots to us and the first album. But there’s also plenty that we have never done before. In a way there’s no real obvious “hits” on the album as such, everyone, according to their own taste, will take something different away from listening to it.
You guys are certainly hard working having played plenty of festivals. Which ones stand out?
Playing the bigger stages like the likes of the main stage at Indiependence was pretty great, and getting to meet a lot of bands we’ve looked up to over the years like Whipping Boy & Therapy? Playing to a sold out crowd at the Big Top on Arthur’s Day in Limerick was also amazing. But one festival we look forward to every year has to be Knockanstockan – it’s just great fun!
I take it there are plenty of festival appearances lined up for 2014?
Yup, we just want to busier than ever. We’ve started taking on a few bookings already, and hopefully many more to be announced!
Final question, cat or dog?
Goat.