by Kris Handel (@khandel84)
Over the past decade Pet Fox have been building an impressive catalog of records that have found their math-y and slightly aggressive music push against the unease of modern day life. On Balance, their fourth full-length, Theo Hartlett’s songwriting has sharpened into a muscular beast, prodding into emotions that struggle to close metaphorical distances with a tender complexity. Pet Fox have had to maneuver around multiple personal evolutions yet have clearly maintained the musical telepathy that has been growing leaps and bounds with each release. Despite Hartlett moving away from Boston and away from his other bandmates, the trio have found new avenues to explore with anthemic power.
“Holding On” combines the over-driven style of Ovlov with the complexity and spirit of A Distant Fist Unclenching era Krill with slippery guitar lines that give way to crunching and distorted chords. Hartlett’s vocals soar and push their limit as Morgan Luzzi’s bass weaves between Jesse Weiss’ jerky rhythms, the band exploring twisting tempos and post-hardcore ingenuity. “Redo Everything” and “For Sale” jerk and pull as detached vocals lend a shadowy atmosphere. Guitars jab at the nerves on the former while the more relaxed rhythms of the latter add a seamless flow to their super powered pop melodies. The mix of relaxed delivery and muscular instrumentation is unafraid to drop resilient bursts of noise amid dashes of Unwound’s signature tension.
“Moving Along” is one of the more knotty songs on the album as Hartlett’s guitar interjections slip up and down the fretboard. The flexible bass lines of Luzzi interplay with Weiss’ shuffling rhythm and hefty drum fills as Hartlett’s vocals take a softer edge, a little more assured than on previous records. He’s developed a sensuous and smoothly melodic coo that contrasts wonderfully with the lyric’s strained pleas of insecurity. “My Own Virtue” is a slow-burner except there is a mid-west punk earnestness to Hartlett’s vocals as the band come close to anthem territory without becoming maudlin. The openness is truly heartfelt, pushing into uncomfortable territory, adding an extra weapon for the intelligent band to access amid their interior probing.
Pet Fox are treading further into direct territory, a trend that hopefully continues as the songs gain a sharpness and hit even harder. They’ve become increasingly fluent at playing with moods throughout Balance, allowing the songs to build and release from their foundations with a breathtaking and measured grace. Hartlett’s vocals come into their own, gaining assertiveness as he lifts these songs to another level and Pet Fox continue to find new ways to surprise their audience. There’s a flow and spirit to Balance that places it into a unique position in the band’s discography, this album has songs that are immediate and catchy yet an air of complexity that is unending and mysterious, leading to an undeniably exciting listening experience.