Kim FoxCountry of origin:U.S. Type of music generally:Alternative pop Status:Most recent release, Return to Planet Earth (2003) See also:Wikipedia's entry on Kim Fox Comparisons:In spirit this is most like Cindy Lee Berryhill, in sound like suddenly, tammy!, and a little like Juliana Hatfield and/or Frente. (Neile) Covers/own material:Own, co-writers, and occasional covers General comments:At first her pop sound seemed indistinguishable from others in the genre to me. I thought she was another Juliana Hatfield or Frente, but gradually the individual and quirky nature of the sound and lyrics became apparent the more I listened. I realized her sound is more along the Cindy Lee Berryhill and suddenly, tammy! lines: humour and depth are both readily apparent after the first couple of listens. I probably had more pure fun playing Kim Fox's music than I did with any other artist this year. And I sang along most of the time—I don't usually do that. Delightful fun, but also with haunting emotional moments. (Neile) Comments about live performance:She was pretty entertaining, though her songs were kind of silly. Some of the lyrics really had me cracking up. The highlight of the evening was when she sang her single, "I Wanna Be a Witch", a cappella (sort of) to the sound of her chopping a log (yes, actually chopping a small log with a small hatchet, right there on stage). Apparently her boyfriend had given her a record of prison songs, where the only musical accompaniment is guys rustling their chains or chopping wood. Anyway, she apparently found it inspirational. Overall, she had a great personality, but I wasn't that impressed with her voice or her songwriting. Her piano playing was pretty good—much better than her guitar playing. (jjhanson@att.net) Recommended first album:Moon Hut Recordings:
Moon HutRelease info:1997—DreamWorks Records—DRMD-50020 Availability:Widely available in the U.S. Ecto priority:Recommended for fans of quirky pop Group members:Kim Fox—piano, vocals, string arrangement, moog, orchestral arrangement, acoustic guitar, organ, rhodes, glockenspiel, mellotron, concertina, consolette, bass, vibes Guest artists:Vess Rubtenberg—guitar, bass, percussion, spoons, lead guitar Produced by:Paul Mahern Comments:Tori lite? No way! Amos hasn't been this lucid since Little Earthquakes. Beautiful, funny, unsettling, magical. (beckwith@ime.net) Return to Planet EarthRelease info:2003—Oglio Records—OGL82018-2 Availability:Unknown Ecto priority:Recommendedfor Kim Fox fans Group members:"Kim and Linus sang and played everything except..." Guest artists:Jon Brion—guitar on 1 tack, celeste, ukulele and slide guitar on 1 track Produced by:Linus of Hollywood Comments:Alas, the quirkiness that I loved on the previous album is hidden here, and I really missed the haunting sense of loss and the stories of the previous album. The songs here are mostly pretty predictable pop love songs, and as such are of lesser interest to me than the work on her previous album which I grew to love so well. There are hints of all this here but it just doesn't stick with me. (Neile) |
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