SilverfoxxETO – Why Don’t The Sun Want Me?

SilverfoxxETO – Why Don’t The Sun Want Me? – EP Review

…and the winner for best song-title of the year goes to…

We’ll get to that soon enough, I promise.

I am always interested in the most curious musical oddities tucked away in the corners of this strange and beautiful scene we share, and I reckon New Orleans’ own SilverfoxxETO definitely qualifies as one of those.  I’ve been doin’ what I do for a long time now folks…I’m not sure how else to say it other than to say I know what the signs are for what’s going to interest me…usually.  I can still be fooled occasionally, but it’s increasingly rare.  When I was sitting here checking out SilverfoxxETO and the notes from this submission, online details, album cover & artwork…comments like “fresh off the pavement” that came with the official posting & such…insane & amazing song titles…like…I’d love to claim I’m some kind of savant, but the reality is that everything I saw pointed towards this being something I was sure to like.  Don’t get it twisted though – it’s nice to be right, especially when it comes to what I like to listen to.  For myself personally, I was able to visually figure out I’d like Why Don’t The Sun Want Me? long before I pushed play.  After that it was just a matter of my ears confirming what my eyes already knew, and finding out how good this record is going to be.  Spoiler alert…I know I can always rely on my instincts.

It all begins with “The Séance at Esplanade Mall.”  You see what I’m saying about song titles here?  If you’re in the camp of people that wonders ‘what’s in a name?’ – THIS is what’s in a name!  The right title can generate curiosity and interest immediately.  Even better than that, it can circumvent INDIFFERENCE and thwart that parasitic feeling instantly, because when you’re engaged and when you’re genuinely interested in something, you’ll rarely if ever feel indifferent.  As the winds blew and “The Séance at Esplanade Mall” started up with its magnificent combination of ambient sound and the warm glow that came along with it, I could feel the grin begin to creep across my face.  Of course my instincts about SilverfoxxETO were right, how could they not be?  I’m older than dirt at this point – I know the signs and I know what to look for when it comes to what my ears want to listen to, and this is that.  “The Séance at Esplanade Mall” continued to contort and change and morph in extremely exciting ways.  That warm glow I mentioned at the start?  It melts away pretty quickly, and reveals a colder, more mysterious vibe.  Then after that, SilverfoxxETO shifts things even more by adding in an exceptional beat and a wealth of clever samples that continue to keep our ears paying close attention to every twist and turn in the music along the way.  “The Séance at Esplanade Mall” is like listening to a combination of Boards Of Canada & Lemon Jelly…and if you know anything about me at all, you KNOW I’m absolutely here for something that would sound like that!  Hopefully you feel the same way…if you don’t, you should!  I’d be willing to listen to ya if you felt like there was a little bit of a Propellerheads influence in here too…that’s an acceptable comparison as well.  What you won’t find, is me complaining about a single second of what I’m hearing on “The Séance at Esplanade Mall” – in fact, you might very well find me saying that not only is this an exceptional start to a record as its gateway in, but it’s also one of the best cuts within the set.

The title-track will give you a bit more length to chew on, stretching out past the five minute mark, which the rest of the set will go on to do as well.  “The Séance at Esplanade Mall” ends up being the shortest tune on the record at the very start, and that’s still a decent length, but believe me when I tell ya, more SilverfoxxETO is only ever going to be a good thing in my books.  As I listened to “Why Don’t The Sun Want Me?” and the brilliantly strange samples that come along with it, combined with the way the sound starts to bend through your speakers like it’s melting them in real-time as you hear it all…what else can I say?  I’m in love with SilverfoxxETO – this is music that was made for me.  Add in that super chill beat, and we’re off to the races in slow-motion.  I loved that we got MORE length in this second cut right away, because creative artistry like this continues to flourish in a situation like that.  Sure, you can end up occasionally spiralling out and going too far with it, but if you’re smart you leave all those tracks on the cutting room floor and keep the best in your lineup.  I liked that SilverfoxxETO included so many of the clips & vocal samples towards the start of this tune, as opposed to how you’ll find the majority of this set will keep’em hidden until we’re nearly at the end of a song.  In that respect, I think there’s an argument to be made that “Why Don’t The Sun Want Me?” is the most balanced track on the record in terms of how it’s designed.  As far as the music itself, this drifts a lot closer towards something you might find on a Four Tet record…think along the lines of “My Angel Rocks Back And Forth” from the Rounds album.  You can also cite independent acts like TKO, See Level, Ford Sharpless, or LoFi Chill as good comparisons too…at the very least, they could all rock one hell of a show together.  All names that I have come to sincerely love throughout the years and listen to long after I’ve reviewed them here on these pages of ours…so take that to heart SilverfoxxETO – you’ve got my attention and you’ve earned a spot on my playlists over here.  Production quality is there…the technique is solid…the ideas are excellent…I am genuinely impressed with “Why Don’t The Sun Want Me?” as a song, and as an EP.  I loved that this track springs to life from its lo-fi beginning into more radiant sound as it plays on, and the relentlessly bendable vibes to be found in this cut are an audiophile’s dream to be listening to.

“Snowy Stillwater” has the kind of beginning that makes you feel like you walked in on this song at the halfway mark already…by the time you start to listen to it, SilverfoxxETO is in full swing and the cut is firing on all cylinders.  From the subtle breakbeat at the core of it all, to the atmospheric elements you’ll find on top, “Snowy Stillwater” has a wide range to its sonic depths, giving your ears a full palette of audible contrast to contemplate.  So where am I at with it after having been listening to SilverfoxxETO this past week?  I like it.  I feel like the absence of the wonderfully strange vocal samples IS felt here for a while though…I’ll fully admit that was definitely part of the draw for me in that second track, so to not have them show up in this third cut until there’s only about forty-seconds left almost felt like a step backwards on some of my listens through this set-list.  I’d be stupid to complain about ANY of this though, so don’t get it remotely twisted, I ain’t doin’ that, not a bit, not at all.  Even IF “Snowy Stillwater” might not quite reach the heights of how I felt about the first two tracks on the record, we’re not talking about a deal-breaker of any sort here – it’s still a quality cut for sure.  I never felt like I could really put a finger firmly on what made it unlike the rest of the lineup for me…it’s still cohesive enough to belong here, and admittedly, I had days where I’d listen to this song and look forward to it looping back around to “Snowy Stillwater” just as much as any other track in the set…but I did also have a few days here and there where it felt like the other four cuts surrounding it were a bit more compelling too.  I guess the main difference is that I never really felt that way about any of the other songs in the lineup – those were all tracks I never felt on the fence about at all, whereas some days I was totally in the mood for “Snowy Stillwater” and other days I was a little less so.  That ain’t a big deal, lemme tell you.  The reality is that I’d still want to listen to this track more than the vast majority of music I end up playing in a day.  I suppose it’s fair to say that a track like this is either built with no major hooks, or that it’s ALL hook…and that’d be the main difference.  It doesn’t quite have that same inspired spark you’ll find in the rest here.

And here we are…as promised, the award for best song-title goes to SilverfoxxETO for…”Zoloft Tweakin Mukbang” – and deservedly so!  Can the sound of a song ever live up to a title THAT incredible?  Talk about a mountain to climb, right?  I’m proud to report that yes…I’m damn happy with what I found here.  The sweet synth melody driving this song along is supremely kickass, and when played in tandem with the beat, it’s nothing but aces.  While SilverfoxxETO will give us a few of them random, quirky vocal samples at the start to give us the fix we need, it’s a fairly minimal amount relative to the song overall and I’d say it’s a lot easier to accept after “Snowy Stillwater” right beforehand.  I’m not tripping out though, right?  That IS a sample of the infamous “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” commercial threaded into the beginning, isn’t it?  Hopefully we’re all hearing the same thing lol.  What a stellar thing to include though!  SilverfoxxETO seems to enthusiastically explore the random, and I so totally & completely love that about this Electro-based project, truly.  All-in-all, I think the willingness to explore is always a good thing and extremely rewarding to the creative spirit, but what makes it even more commendable in a case like this one, is that SilverfoxxETO manages to do the impossible and make that exploratory sound accessible to everyone.  Usually there’s a trade-off of sorts…a compromise being made…you get artistic, or you get accessible…it’s rare to find both occurring at once in such a harmonious pairing, but that’s precisely what you get here.  I really love that keyboard/piano-type sound on the surface of this song…it’s bright, it’s beautiful, it’s fantastic to listen to.  If there IS going to be a single released with video support and all that…I think I’d be taking a good look at “Zoloft Tweakin Mukbang” as the main candidate.  Not only is the title going to attract all kinds of attention on its own, but the amazing sound that comes along with it completely justifies the interest that it establishes.  You get a little bit of a part one & part two effect here with “Zoloft Tweakin Mukbang” switching up the vibe pretty significantly with about ninety-seconds left to go, but for as happy as I was with the beginning, I never felt let down by SilverfoxxETO’s decision to switch things up at the end…it was like the cherry on top of a sundae I was already enjoying.  For the record, I don’t actually like cherries at all, but it’s an analogy y’all know and can picture clearly.  If cherries were made out of what “Zoloft Tweakin Mukbang” sounds like, I can guarantee you I’d sit down to eat a full bowl of’em and happily ask for another helping.

It’s quality stuff…that’s really the bottom line here.  “Our journey comes to an end with music of drama,” a voice that sounds much more educated than mine does will tell you, so we have to assume that we’re being told the truth as “Censor” begins.  Perhaps the closest cut you’ll find to Boards Of Canada in terms of sound & style…I mean…if you’re looking at this song’s DNA, I’m pretty confident you’d discover that it’s not even a distant cousin to something like “In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country.”  Where the main differences in this comparison exist, is that SilverfoxxETO is more determined to create a hybrid and fluid vibe that possesses a wider range of sound…so rather than sticking to one gear, a track like “Censor” flexes a few instead.  Overall, that pays off in the long run and opens up the potential to be heard by a wider audience too.  Think of it like this…I know the specific moods I’d be in that would have me wanting to hear “In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country,” as opposed to a track like “Censor” being built for a larger dose of consumption…like daily…which again, is the result of its more variable design.  Mind you, I’m speaking mainly of all the stuff outside of the first forty seconds or so.  At the start, the contents of “Censor” are pretty muffled…it’s intentional, but yeah…just to be clear, the accessibility I’m referring to would technically start after the quote I’ve got for ya at the start of this paragraph.  Anyhow – I’m sure you get it, and if you don’t, that’s okay too…you will when you have a listen for yourself, which I’m trusting you to do.  You’ll definitely dig the chill groove that “Censor” locks onto, and I’m fully confident that you’ll feel just like I did in that it’s a worthy conclusion to what’s been a solid record from start to finish.  SilverfoxxETO is onto something stellar with the music being made here, and I’m looking forward to plenty more of it.  Maybe there’s truth in the title…maybe the sun don’t want it, but I sure do…and I feel like I’ve heard five excellent reasons as to why you’ll feel the same about this lineup too.

Find out more about SilverfoxxETO from this multi-link here:  https://linktr.ee/SilverfoxxETO

IF YOU WEREN’T SO BUSY READING THIS SENTENCE, you could be CLICKING THIS instead to learn more about how to be the next artist or band featured here at sleepingbagstudios!