ADMIRAL FOX "NOWHERE IS SAFE" REVIEW
“Nowhere is Safe,” a title that sums up the anxiety and fear most inhabitants of planet Earth are feeling right now, is a darker and grungier turn for the typically more synth-pop-rock band Admiral Fox. Released in April, the EP’s five tracks seem to swell with anxiety until the penultimate song “Pictures of Drones,” then dial up the cynicism with a cathartic release on “So Proud.” Without knowing it Admiral Fox provided my pandemic experience with a perfect soundtrack.
Starting off with a light and bouncy guitar and synth combination, “Forest Dweller” lulls the listener into a false sense of what the EP might be. Then ten seconds in the distortion kicks in and we are met with the lyrics “I know an omen when I see one,” foreshadowing the themes to come. The songs builds to a big finish with a some lofty “Whoa ohs,” and for the most part “Forest Dweller” never truly gets dark, but with lines like “Why can’t the humans leave beautiful things alone” it definitely reflects the anger a lot of people hold towards the way we as a species have treated the planet.
“Salamander” rips through grunge/punk riffs, and though I have no idea what the song is about, but the anger comes through. With galloping drums and aggressive guitars, this track feels like it was written with a mosh pit in mind.
I have a soft spot for the third song, “Lift My Spirit.” Perhaps containing the most memorable lyrics on the EP, “Lift My Spirit” is no less distorted, but does slow the pace to a shamble to reflect the listless lyrics like “I’m only a person if there’s people around, so who’s going to lift my spirit now,” a line most people adhering to the shelter in place order can relate to on some level. My favorite lyric is “I’m so sick of these fucks trying to glamorize the struggle that’s been taking up my day to day now. My depression’s not an art form. Nothing’s going to come of this to make it all worthwhile.” The line is applicable to so much of what we are going through right now, from trying to slap a happy face on a shitty situation, to the faux way the media portrays mental illnesses. “Lift My Spirit” is the turning point in the EP, where the emotional investment becomes apparent and it’s suddenly personal.
Lead single “Pictures of Drones” in the peak of anxiety on “Nowhere is Safe.” Utterly apocalyptic in tone, and with a driving synth beat, “Pictures of Drones” ups the tension and dread posing the question “Will the world end after all?” And though the apocalyptic events in the song are people being killed by drones being played like remote first person shooters, the anxiety and anger felt in “Pictures of Drones” easily translates to our current pandemic. The highlight of the song for me comes at the one minute fifty-six second point when Dan DeMarco lets out an easily some of the top five most guttural yell/singing I’ve ever heard recorded. You can check out the video for “Pictures of Drones” below and hear for yourself.
My favorite song on “Nowhere is Safe” is the closer “So Proud.” With tensions built to the breaking point, “So Proud” comes in with wishful thinking and tongue in cheek cynicism. The final track on the EP explains how Admiral Fox is proud of the kids they haven’t had yet because they know their kids will do a better job than they did at tearing down and pissing off the government. With the right perspective, it can be seen as an optimistic way to finish out the EP.
Admiral Fox released an absolute banger of an EP with “Nowhere is Safe,” and if you are looking for a soundtrack to your own apocalypse I highly recommend checking it out.
You can also catch a live stream performance from Admiral Fox tomorrow, May 9 at 7 pm right here on Melodic Noise Media.
Admiral Fox:
Dan DeMarco (he/him): vocals, music, lyrics, rhythm guitar, synth patches, bass on Pictures of Drones
Mat Lochner (he/him): lead guitar, wrote the pretty guitar part on So Proud
Ben Ouellette (he/him): drums, energy
Lucas Rollo (he/him): bass, synth, vocals, wrote the nifty intro bassline on So Proud, also named So Proud
(Melodic Noise) How's your day going?
(Admiral Fox) Today was grocery store day, which has become an anxiety-ridden nightmare lately. Fortunately it wasn't too crowded, and they had eggs! So today was pretty ok.
(MN) What is your formed/origin story?
(AF) Originally Admiral Fox was Dan's solo project when he moved here in 2018. One day he met a rad artist/filmmaker named Walter Smits, who would later make music videos for Admiral Fox songs "Winter in Limbo" and "The Heat". Walt lived with Lucas, Mat, and Ben at the time. Dan eventually met them at a denim-themed screening party hosted at their place to promote Bloodsquirt XL, a webseries Walt created and Lucas starred in. Around this time Dan was recording his second solo Admiral Fox album, Saint Cloud, and Lucas offered to record and engineer the first track from that project, called "Space Cadet". After working on that song together, the boys started meeting up once a week to practice songs and soon they were a band!
(MN) Genre?
(AF) We like to say synth rock, but indie rock is fine. Nowhere is Safe is definitely our grungiest, most punk-adjacent sounding stuff yet.
(MN) Do you have a label?
(AF) Nope!
(MN) What is the story behind the EP title?
(AF) The title is a lyric from "Pictures of Drones", our lead single for the EP. We were originally going to call it the Pictures of Drones EP, but we didn't want to put too much focus on the song as opposed to the other ones, because all five songs are bangers. Plus, Nowhere is Safe just sounds so much more relevant now, sadly.
(MN) Lyrically what stands out on the album?
(AF) The lyrics on this thing are much less introspective than our previous songs and more focused on our feelings of discontent with current events.
(MN) What was the inspiration behind the album?
(AF) We wanted this EP to capture our new sound as a live band, as opposed to our previous two albums that Dan recorded by himself. This EP was about emphasizing the heaviness and power that we found when we started playing together.
(MN) What do you hope people take away from the album?
(AF) We hope that people relate to the anxious and angry feelings in the lyrics and know that even if they’re stuck in their homes, they’re not alone and in fact are part of a huge group of likeminded people that are constantly being fucked over.
(MN) Is there something that connects the songs together?
(AF) Themes of depression, anger, anxiety, mistrust of authority, and also the first song is a love song.
(MN) Are you locals or transplants?
(AF) Dan is a transplant from a suburb of Philly. Ben, Mat, and Lucas are from Duluth.
(MN) What are some of your influences and Minnesota influences?
(AF) Minnesota punks like Joe Bartel and Lucas Kurmis definitely rubbed off on us while we were making this new stuff. In general, Dan’s songwriting and singing is hugely in debt to bands like Radiohead and Elliott Smith and Nirvana.
(MN) Who are some of your favorite current Twin Cities artists?
(AF) This is gonna be a long one:
Lucas Kurmis, Joe Bartel, Internet Dating, Elbow House, 4th Curtis, A Sunken Ship Irony, Harper’s Jar, Ca$ual, Willi.P, Dad Bod, Kevin Busckowsky, Sad Boy Ornithology Club, Gully Boys, Static Panic, The Bad Man, VIAL, Bugsy, Haze Gazer, White Line Darko, Luca Robinson, Heart to Gold, Liluna, Mrs. Pinky & the Great Fox, Fruit Punch Lover Boy, Walter Smits, Francis Emil Johnson, Laura Hugo, Kid Dakota
(MN) What is your favorite venue to play and see shows at in Twin Cities?
(AF) One of the places we’ve had the most fun playing is at BACKYARD, which is the boys’ own house show venue coordinated with Ian Guyette, publisher of BACKYARD zine. 331 Club is great to play at and see shows! We have a lot of fun at Bryant Lake Bowl as well. The open mic and showcases at moto-i in Uptown are where Dan first found a foot in the door to the Minneapolis scene.
(MN) What can fans expect when they come to your shows?
(AF) Dan will most likely break a string or knock something over accidentally after blowing his voice out. Our current broken strings at one gig record is four, but we can surpass that easily.
(MN) Do you have a favorite or crazy memory of playing a show?
(AF) A favorite early memory took place at moto-i. We were a five piece at the time and we were crammed on a stage clearly not meant for five people with instruments, when one of our amps started smoking. Mat very gracefully unplugged his amp, switched to a backup one and kept playing, all in mid-song without skipping a beat! Later we found out that the amp had not been causing the smoke, but an undisclosed fog machine. Also, shoutout to JT Viele, he was an amazing host and a great sport letting us play there! We love moto-i!
(MN) Who are your dream tour-mates?
(AF) Everyone we named as our favorite Twin Cities artists basically!!
(MN) Other hobbies?
(AF) Ben looks after his dog Abby. Mat looks after his dog Lucy. Lucas and Dan have no dogs.
(MN) What do you like about living in the Twin Cities?
(AF - Ben) “The music scene here is great. There’s trees and snow. People here are fantastic and I love the diversity in food and art.”
(AF - Lucas) “You’re within an hour of the wilderness. I have yet to meet a band here that has been too cool for school. Artists here are really about collaboration and acceptance.”
(AF - Mat) “Oh God, uh… I really appreciate the local music and art community in general. Lots of food, lots of trees.”
(AF - Dan) “People here are way friendlier than on the East Coast. We’re handling COVID-19 well, which is fortunate.”
(MN) Is there anything that sets the Twin Cities scene apart from places you've toured?
(AF) See above. Also anyone wanna go on tour?
(MN) What are your favorite places to grab food or drink in the Twin Cities?
(AF) RIP El Taco Riendo Northeast :(
Other places we love are Modern Times, Ombibolous, Glam Doll NE, Hard Times, Chimborazo, Seward Cafe, Ideal Diner, World Street Kitchen, and Mickey’s Diner
(MN) What are the band's plans for the future?
(AF) Focus on creating new music, recording it, and (fingers-crossed) playing it in front of people soon.
(MN) Is there anyone you'd like to thank or shout out?
(AF) Huge shout-out to Sam Licari for mixing, engineering and producing our new EP, Morgan McCandless for the sick cover art, True Hallucinations for their awesome video for Pictures of Drones, Eva Adderley, Ian Guyette, and Walter Smits for being on constant band support duty, and Kim Kervina for the smoked salmon (if you know you know). Another big shout-out to BACKYARD zine for representing the local DIY scene. We love y’all.
Admiral Fox
Official site: http://itsadmiralfox.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7sBZvlLcjHqhX7NWCe8chU?si=DZbw2W53RX6q8NYpTXdSiA
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/admiral-fox/1344444149
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGojPGEXK4XPOgpqKJperhQ
Bandcamp: https://admiralfox.bandcamp.com
Facebook: http://fb.me/itsadmiralfox
Review and interview by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner @PlaylistTC
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