Nashville – There’s so much to love about PHOX and their refreshing take on folksy indie rock, and there’s so much love that goes into their striking, addictive music. From lead vocalist Monica Martin’s subversive charm, to the band’s flawless self-titled debut LP—which Best New Bands called “Phenomenal”—that dropped last June, PHOX has a good thing going and there’s no indication that they’ll be slowing down anytime soon. Just a few months ago, the group wrapped up a tour with The Head and The Heart, and it seems that they’ve dived into things once again without skipping a beat. This past Monday night, the six Wisconsin-ites visited the Mercy Lounge, keeping the momentum from their latest “how we escape Wisconsin winters” tour steadily rolling.
But let’s go back to Monica Martin for a moment—aside from the fact that her vocals are both sterling and stirring, she also has loads of personality. As everyone in the band arranged themselves and found their place on stage, Martin told us an off-hand story about how she had recently asked someone out over what she endearingly referred to as “snail-mail.” A collective “aww” oozed from the crowd, and we all instantly in fell love with everything happening on stage (if we weren’t already in love with PHOX before, that is). Before the show even started, Martin regarded her audience as friends, and a beautiful symbiosis began to build between the crowd and the band.
Similarly, the same chemistry existed between all six members of the group and flowed into their music—informing their lyrics, heightening the mood. Huddling around an old-timey condenser microphone, the band came together to sing a crowd-favorite, “Kingfisher.” It was a beautiful, singular, special moment that can only exist in a live show. While the same delicate cadence and wistful flute is communicated in the recording, the live performance of “Kingfisher” contained a certain kind of magic when everyone in the band gathered close and shut their eyes.
The night was painted in an emotional hue, and PHOX are experts at pulling and plucking the heartstrings. With such thoughtful lyrics paired with soaring, dipping instrumentals and rhythms, feelings of loss and longing floated to the surface. But this feeling wasn’t accompanied by the usual doubt or trepidation—there’s a solid certainty in the way this band plays melancholy. In a Feist-like trill, the piano intro to “Satyr and the Faun” provided the perfect place for Martin to lay her poetic—and incredibly relatable—lyrics. Poetics and harmony combined to form a perfectly mournful, yet somehow comforting, piece of work.
Everyone in the audience remained in total admiration of PHOX and the band has left a permanent impression in Music City. Though indie folk is oft derided as too soft, too familiar, or too twee—and subsequently written off—PHOX defiantly stand out in a haze of similar acts and sounds. Martin’s unshakable confidence (even when she erupts into uncontrollable laughter in the middle of a song after breaking a handheld instrument, which happened Monday night) and the band’s unique, unpredictable trajectory come together to form an act that is, at all times, powerful. It’s still early in the year, but PHOX’s performance and masterful body of work will be hard to upstage—and I can’t wait to see where they’ll be going from here.
PHOX will continue to tour the US through the end of April, and they even have a few dates planned for the summer. Don’t miss out—keep up with the band on Facebook.
Photo of PHOX by Amaryllis Lyle
Amaryllis Lyle
Latest posts by Amaryllis Lyle (see all)
- Clear Plastic Masks Heat Up The High Watt - May 18, 2015
- Featured Artist: Dillon Hodges Of firekid - May 5, 2015
- Natalie Prass Returns To Nashville For A Sold-Out Set - May 4, 2015
Pingback: The Living Statues Serve Up Rock ‘n’ Roll At Schubas