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Non-Prog CD Reviews

Fox Medicine

Greetings from Mars

Review by Gary Hill

I need to get one thing out there right at the start. This release is clearly not for everyone. If you don't like music that's noisy and chaotic, you will probably running screaming from this. Imagine Sonic Youth with more hardcore punk and extreme metal elements in the mix. You'll have a good idea of what this sounds like. It's ferocious and crazed. It's also incredibly cool. This has a lot of hardcore punk, shoegaze and more in the mix. Yet it's also quite compelling and artistic. You've probably never heard anything quite like this, but might have heard some things that share elements with it. If you have an adventurous taste in music and quest for something new, give this a try. I won't guarantee you will like it, but I'd say there is a good chance.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2018  Volume 2 at  garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2018.

Track by Track Review
Glitter Alien
The fuzz laden riff that drives this is so cool. The cut is fast paced and screaming hot. The vocals make me think just a bit of groups from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs to Green Milk from the Planet Orange. Musically this is part stoner rock and part hardcore punk. However you label it, this scorcher is a great way to start the set in style.
Supervillain
While the mix of sounds on this one is similar, somehow this feels more in line with a trippy psychedelic edge. Perhaps this has some hints of something like The Plasmatics, but there is almost a space rock element here. That's particularly true of the extended instrumental section late in the track.
Licorice Lox
Imagine combining hardcore punk with The B-52s and you will be somewhere in the vicinity of this cut. Again, the differences aren't huge from the previous numbers, but this is far from a carbon copy. If anything, this is more on the playful side of the equation.
Wife School
The riff that opens this is almost thrash metal. The cut shifts out from there with a lot of hardcore punk. The cut shifts in some unusual ways, bringing a lot more of that hardcore edge. This is cool in a raw way. That raw nature really adds charm to it. It has some particularly interesting shifts and changes built into it.
Stars
This comes in with something that's really twisted in sound. The vocals screaming over the top drive that point home. It works out to more psychedelic rock based weirdness. This is screaming hot and so cool.
Obstacles Popsicles
I love the rhythmic element of the opening section of this. It work through to more of a hardcore punk kind of sound. This is loud, noisy and so cool.
Gold Mine
The opening riff on this has an old school metal meets hardcore sound. The cut screams (literally) out from there with a fury and raw power that is so cool. There are some interesting changes as this drives forward. After the two and a half minute mark this leads toward psychedelic space rock for a time. Overall, though, this is powerhouse, driving music that's as noisy as it is cool.
Mental Hygiene
Coming in slower and a bit less noisy, this has an old school punk rock vibe at the beginning. It twists to a more modern, extreme metal kind of sound from there. A freaky, psychedelic weirdness is in the mix here, too. This instrumental is both crazed and so tasty. It's a great way to end things in style.
  
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