Milwaukee's Fox Face unleashes fierce feminist rock on timely debut album 'Spoil & Destroy'
The New York Times had a fantastic feature last month with the headline, "Women are making the best rock music today."
Suggesting a shrinking "cultural impact" of rock bands fronted by white men, the feature spotlighted "a new generation of female and non-binary performers — punk in style or spirit, coming from the all-ages warehouse and the D.I.Y. ecosystem."
But the Times overlooked one particularly strong group from Milwaukee: Fox Face.
To be fair, Fox Face's debut full-length album, "Spoil & Destroy," won't be released by Madison punk label Dirtnap Records until Nov. 3. But it deserves to get a lot of attention.
"Spoil & Destroy" is a gloriously bruising half-hour of visceral, at times unsettling, garage rock, but the meaning behind the songs packs just as much of a punch.
"Clever Girl" is inspired by experiences frontwoman Lindsay DeGroot has had firsthand, with male musicians "trying to explain to me how I can write a better song or asking if I need help tuning my guitar," she said.
Another, "Nasty Woman," is a blistering push-back against sexism and assault, co-opting the words President Donald Trump used to describe Hillary Clinton.
Such biting songs are "an accurate reflection of the (expletive) we deal with and talk about," said bassist Mary Hickey. "That is our reality. We want to use music to dissect that and call it for what it is. Unfortunately, based on feedback, a lot of women can relate to this sort of thing, so hopefully we can reduce some of the frustrations."
Who's who: Chris Capelle, drums; DeGroot, lead vocals and guitar; Hickey, bass; Lydia Washechek, guitar
When formed: Washechek: We started in 2009 or 2010. … It was me and Lindsay for a while. Lindsay would write 500 songs and we would put something together. It was kind of poppy at first. One of our first songs was about tubing way, way, way back.
DeGroot: We've gone through a number of lineup changes and just style changes. It wasn't until I would say about a year or two ago that we were really doing what we're doing now.
Shaping the sound: Washechek: Once Lindsay started writing heavier, darker songs, I feel like we hit our groove.
DeGroot: (At first) it was pulling from a lot of bands I was in previously, like the Olives and the Blackouts, all really poppy punky, so it's easy to just keep doing what you know. I think it more naturally took a turn when I saw this band the Tee Tops from Detroit. I just loved that band. It was the most stripped-down, heavy thing, but there was nothing to it. I wanted to write music that made me feel the way I felt listening to that band.
The songs of "Spoil & Destroy": Washechek: A lot of them are pretty politically charged, and about experiences we encountered being female playing music, or just living. "I Believe in Science" is a response to global warming being on the news a lot and people who believe science isn't true.
DeGroot: "Girl Hater" is about girls hating other girls. "(What You're) Good For" is a happy song; it's sex-positive. You don't have to be ashamed about what you want or who you are. "Hiawatha" is through the eyes of American history. The first verse is about religious exploitation through metaphors about being baptized. The second verse would be about government exploitation of people through talking about Native Americans and the Trail of Tears. The third verse is about corporate exploitation all through the idea of the westward expansion.
Future plans and goals: Hickey: We're doing some release shows and excited to write new songs. We're set to go to Europe in April. This is the first full-length record I've ever put out, so I'm so excited to be able to share this, and very proud of this record.
DeGroot: I want to give girls more examples that they can do this. We have all been going to shows for forever, and I remember when I was in Appleton in high school, there weren't any girls playing in bands. I didn't pick up a guitar until I was 25 because I assumed I couldn't do it. People are missing out on awesome opportunities.
Next gig:9 p.m. Nov. 3, Acme Records, 2341 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. $5, or free with the purchase of "Spoil & Destroy." Sex Scenes and Red Lodge open.
More on Music
Watch two exclusive performances from Fox Face at jsonline.com/music. Sound Check appears every first and third Thursday online and in the Journal Sentinel.