The House Flies know something vital about atmosphere, how to create tension without letting it out, how to make the darkness a welcome instead of a persecution. Sweet Foxhound has this balance perfectly, as the opening guitar layers are dark and instantly create mood before the bass is pulsing and you are sucked into their gothic post-punk. Haunting vocals done by Alex Riggen are gently and intentionally restrained to never over-sell the emotion but naturally arising out of the arrangement itself.
The reason why this track is so interesting is that it is dynamic. The fact that the first half burns slowly gives the instrumentation room to breathe, the bass and guitar sounds flowing together as that catchy guitar motif in the chorus begs physical reaction without interrupting the spell. As the song progresses to its rushing chorus, the rush is not imposed upon the listener; it is a rewarded result of development of the song itself and not just the volume itself.
The recording is the first official collaboration with the band, and Burnie Eckardt adds significantly to the sonic palette of the band. The combination of indie-rock songwriting with post-punk impatience and shoegaze sound makes it something truly captivating, but not so unconventional as to be alienating, too atmospheric as to be luxurious. First composed at the Mannequins Deposits, the song acts as a link between their old work and a new darker future.
Sweet Foxhound is a success by itself and a transitional work. It is gothic without the melodramatic of gothic rock, pensive without giving in to pompousness. The House Flies have created something that is filmic, intimate, disturbing yet oddly reassuring--evidence that attractively rendered darkness can be as cozy as it is effective.
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