Guillermo CastroThe sophomore full length from Fox Wound is what most would label an emo record. It certainly contains all the touchstones of the genre—tempestuous guitars, tightly wound rhythms, loud/soft dynamics, confessional lyrics that aren’t afraid to claw at old scars and expose them to the world. Having undergone some lineup changes since their debut LP (most notably the departures of former vocalist/guitarist Richard Philip and drummer Harrison Lyerly), however, the band saw an opportunity to expand their sound and branch off in new directions.
“A lot of other influences have been creeping in,” says vocalist and guitarist Joseph McMichen, and, indeed, It Could Happen to You sounds like a bigger and more wide-ranging record. Through a continual process of collaboration and constant reevaluation of the material, the group took on the challenge of crafting a more dynamic and multi-layered album, and as one navigates through the LP’s 14 tracks, there are traces of post-rock and shoegaze, alternative folk, and dream pop. None of it is necessarily far removed from the oft-noted constraints of emo, but each helps add further depth and dimension to Fox Wound’s thoughtful songwriting.
Conceptually, the album is divided into two distinct themes: the first explores ideas of loneliness and isolation and the destructive decisions that oftentimes result when your life feels shrouded in darkness. The second, however, examines the possibility of redemption and moving past those choices through self-examination and admitting to the need for help. Although those two themes become tangled and intertwined in the early and middle stages of It Could Happen to You, the separation between them becomes increasingly obvious as the album lumbers through its final chapters. “I wanted there to be a clear transition in the record because that’s how life has been for me,” McMichen reveals. “I didn’t want to write about sadness and loneliness without a conclusion, because what really matters is what you do with it.”
Talk a little bit about the changes Fox Wound has gone through since your last record.
Yeah, there’s been a lot of change in the last couple years. I guess the biggest being Allen McCleese from Sleep Weather is our drummer now and our original guitarist Cameron Gunter rejoined. Outside of member changes though I’ve been told our sound has changed quite a bit, but I think we still have a lot of the same early emo staples in our songwriting we’ve always had. We all just listen to so much more than that, so a lot of other influences have been creeping in.
I didn’t see Cameron credited on your Bandcamp page. Was he a part of writing or recording the new record?
No, actually. Tyler and I were splitting duties on guitar, and I jumped on bass for a song. When we finished the album we realized we needed a second guitarist for shows. We asked Cam to play with us and he immediately picked it up and even added his own parts to a lot of the songs, so there’s some variation from the album to the live shows.
Was Allen there from the beginning of these songs?
Yes, we didn’t start writing any of the album before he joined the band.
How did his drumming style affect the way you approached this record? Was it markedly different than writing with Harrison Lyerly?
Yes, of course. They’re two completely different style drummers, but the chemistry and the process is the same. We’re all just heavily collaborating with each other and pushing each other to be the best musicians we can be.
Can you talk about your process as a band and then for this record specifically?
Usually it starts with Tyler and I writing a single part. We’ll show something to one another and we’ll start improvising off of it and trying different things. We demoed out It Could Happen to You around four separate times before we recorded the actual songs, and a lot of them were very different when we started. We all try to just keep an open mind and not get to married to something we write at home alone on our own because oftentimes someone else will come up with something better out of nowhere. It’s very collaborative.
Reading through the lyrics it seems like a lot of the record is about loneliness, isolation, and fractured relationships on the one hand, but then also very much about finding yourself and moving beyond past mistakes. Was that dichotomy something the band was looking to explore on this record?
Yes. When I was writing the lyrics it very much felt like I was writing a diary. I wanted there to be a clear transition in the record because that’s how life has been for me. I didn’t want to write about sadness and loneliness without a conclusion, because what really matters is what you do with it. It’s important to acknowledge sadness, but I’m more interested in writing about moving past it and what you can do when you let go of those feelings.
I want to talk about “Dungeon Crawler” because it’s such an anthemic song and it seems to speak to that willingness to go out on a limb and lean on others to help pull you out of the darkness. And then of course there’s the great line at the end that references the album title. How did that particular song come about?
It was one of the last songs I wrote lyrics for, and it was one of the toughest. A lot of it is about admitting you’re lost and you don’t know what to do. It’s called “Dungeon Crawler” referencing the style of video game where you’re constantly navigating through a dark place and it doesn’t seem to end. The line “I was stepping out at night, and I was so alive” is me talking about putting myself in bad situations because they feel right at the time. The rest of the song is an admission that maybe I wasn’t making the right choices all along and the only way out is to restart and do better, especially if it means accepting help.
So that line, “It could happen to you / Cause it happened to me too”—is that meant as a kind of warning?
Something between a warning and a nod to anyone who’s made similar choices. A lot of the events of the album are looking at things after time has passed and reflecting on them.
At the onset of the interview, you mentioned other influences creeping in to your music. Are there any specific artists or records that helped shape this record?
Alex G was a big influence to our vocal harmonies, especially when it came to experimenting with weirder stuff. Tyler would definitely say Neil Young has impacted how he’s played guitar in the last couple years. And one of my biggest influences is the New York punk band Latterman. Someone gave me a mixtape when I was a kid and it had Latterman on it and the first time I heard their distorted guitars and sloppy yelling I just wanted to be in a band like that.
What can you tell us about the album cover? Did you work with Dianna Settles again?
Yes, Dianna is an absolutely phenomenal artist. They have been tattooing me for a few years, and after we finished recording our last album I knew I wanted her to do our artwork. I was so happy with how it turned out last time that I thought it just made sense to ask her to do it again. I sent her the songs when they were roughly mixed, along with the lyrics and told her to do whatever she wanted. I think she captured the themes of the album incredibly well.
It also seems to provide a continuity between the new record and your last LP. Do you think that was part of the intention?
I do and that’s something I wanted. I wouldn’t say our new album is a direct follow-up, but it definitely discusses a lot of the same themes and picks up where some of the last album left off. I don’t know when we’ll record a third album, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I was asking Dianna to do artwork again. The artwork for both albums feel like they’re in the same world and I think that also plays into the theme of nostalgia.
You’re doing your release at a house show rather than at a venue. Was that by preference?
In a way. We did our last album release at 529, which I love, but I really wanted it to be an all ages show for this one. We’re having Rosalia Parra do her Mexican vegan pop-up Maiz y Canela there, so for me it feels like a fun party with all my friends. I thought putting it at Suspiria House would just be fun and welcoming for everyone.
Fox Wound will celebrate the release of It Could Happen to You tomorrow night, Feb. 15, at Suspiria House alongside Slow Fire Pistol, Of the Vine, and King of Summer. Doors open at 8 p.m. All ages.
More Info
Bandcamp: foxwoundband.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @foxwoundband
Instagram: @foxwoundband
Twitter: @foxwoundband