Regular listeners to DKFM know about Fir Cone Children. Alexander Donat’s sonic labor of love has always been the odd kid down the block. Never satisfied with coloring inside the lines, the song constructs of FCC are always angular, often disjointed, never predictable. While always accessible, and ever more engaging on repeated listens, Fir Cone Children challenges the listener to take a journey into unique and uncharted musical territory.
This time ’round, Donat enlisted the vocal accompaniment of Whimsical’s Krissy Vanderwoude for color and shading, elevating the proceedings that much more. But the star of the song is the song. It’s a punchy, overdriven rollercoaster ride, with a propulsion that grabs you immediately. Touchstones? “Green Fox” is part Pixies, part Swirlies, with a dash of Civic, but ultimately unlike any of them. And absolutely nobody else today is offering up sonic jewels with this much credible creativity. Press play, and we’ll bring in some background below.
We asked Donat about the genesis of the song: “‘Green Fox’ was the first song I wrote for the fifth Fir Cone Children album. Having just finished a release of my darkgaze/post-punk band vlimmer I felt the imminent urge to crank out a fast-paced, super noisy shoegaze burner about one of last year’s Christmas presents for my younger daughter (then 3-year old): we gave her a green skateboard (pennyboard to be precise), and it was funny to see how she struggled with the gift wrapping paper while she almost immediately rode the board like a pro. For her this board meant everything at that moment: “one foot on the tail, one foot on the snout, is this what life’s all about?” I’m happy that Krissy Vanderwoude provided her vocals again, and I think our voices nicely melt into one of a dream punk that is very young at heart.”
“Green Fox” is the first single from the forthcoming LP, Fog Surrounds Us, out 27 September on Blackjack Illuminist Records, in CD/cassette/digital formats. Five albums in four years, it’d be tempting to call Donat prolific. But that’s almost backhanded: there are usually more original ideas in a single Fir Cone Children album than most bands in genre can dig up in a career. So while “prolific” may seem a slight for others, it’s a legitimate marvel in this case. Don’t expect Donat to stick to a preset musical genre, as there’s so much territory to explore in and around his chosen genres: dream punk, garage, lo-fi, psych, shoegaze, post-punk and more. Preorders are live now, and we’re looking forward to what other treats are in store on Fog Surrounds Us. No doubt we’ll hear musical approaches we’d never even imagined before.
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