Foxmoulder – “Hindsight” [EP]

A lot of modern screamo and emo music hardly resembles what its forbears where trying to accomplish. Most of these bands tend to create a sound that is too clean and refined which pushes content that is whiny and unchallenging and that ultimately results in something generic and unfulfilling. However, Toronto’s very own Foxmoulder and their debut release Hindsight makes no attempt to be cute or accessible and avoids the clichés of the genre. Hindsight is everything screamo should be, fast, abrasive, challenging, and unapologetic.

One of the most important messages that Foxmoulder’s Hindsight conveys is that with screamo and hardcore music in general, in the end what matters is the live performance. With all five songs on the demo recorded in 2 hours all live off the floor, Foxmoulder has taken their live performance and crammed it into eight and a half minutes. One can actually visualize the show in their mind, as “Intuition/Rhetoric” opens with a slower and somewhat softer introduction the crowd that surrounds the band subtly nods their heads along with the beat of the drums.

Until the song picks up. Now the crowd is moving, those closer to the back push forward while the few in front try to hold them off. The end of the song brings out a chorus of screams about “belief in best intentions” which is closed out by applause and cheers for more. “Neutral” starts with no warning sending the crowd back into a whirring mess, the song is short but the chaos it creates is immense and exhausting. The end of “Neutral” flows seamlessly into “Awkward,” the band and the crowd are almost indistinguishable now but this song is not as chaotic as “Neutral”, heavier and more calculated we get a quick moment of reprieve before we are struck once again with sound.

“Absurd” re-establishes who is playing and who is listening, the bass line at the beginning settles the crowd back down to nodding their heads. The music picks up again and thrusts the crowd back into movement before it tries to settle down for the intro of the last song, “Breath of the City.” The crowd can’t go back to just nodding their heads, they calm down to an extent but there is hardly any space for the band anymore as they desperately struggle to keep from everything collapsing on the drums. However, this can only last so long and the set comes to an abrupt halt as everyone gasps for air and attempts to catch their breath.

Foxmoulder has quickly gained favor in punk and hardcore circles in Toronto and has plenty of shows on the horizon. The most notable of these showcases them as the opening act to legendary screamo bands from across the border We Were Skeletons and Beau Navire. Hindsight can be found on their bandcamp website and is available for whatever price you wish.

Track Listing:

01. Intuition/Rhetoric
02. Neutral
03. Awkward
04. Absurd
05. Breath of the City

Run Time: 8:36
Release Date: January 9, 2012

Check out the album stream