Foxtail Somersault

Foxtail Somersault thrust me into an early 90’s flashback, bringing up thoughts of the Happy Mondays et al. With a sound like theirs, it’s often easy to overlook the musicianship involved, especially when listening to a recording. Seeing them live, I couldn’t help but latch onto the sonic landscapes painted by guitarists Seiken Nakama and James Spadaro. Never overpowering the rest of the sound, they found the pocket early and filled it just right. Elizabeth Anderson’s vocals were like an aural conundrum. They were light and wispy yet rich and full, all at the same time. The texture they brought to the room evades any possible written description on my part, so you’ll just have to see them live for yourself. - The BayBridged

San Francisco quintet Foxtail Somersault carry on an unabashed love affair with the gauzy, dreamy, spacey British rock that sprang up in the late '80s/early '90s. Foxtail's music—featuring Elizabeth Anderson's enchantingly dulcet vocals—is a Lush Cocteau [sic] served with Verve. DAVE SEGAL - The Stranger

San Francisco based Foxtail Somersault play good, chill music. Their songs are multi-layered and cinematic, with soft doses of percussion and beautifully airy vocals; it is reminiscent of an analog Massive Attack. - Seattle Show Gal

Led by the ethereal vocals of Elizabeth Anderson and Nakama's expert production, Foxtail Somersault shoegazes with the best of them, and on its new release, Reflection, the band has injected the dreaminess with some heaviness. - SF Weekly

Foxtail Somersault, a San Francisco based five-piece who has only released one EP so far. “Motionland” is the second track on their EP “Fathom.” I have only been able to get my hands on “Motionland” but the band do have a long rooted past in the realms of shoegazing and post rock. Vocally, Catherine Howland's vocal would fit in well on a My Bloody Valentine record and Seiken Nakama's guitar texture weave in out and out of shoegazing and post rock. The track finishing off with a strong wall of sound. It sounded a little to subdued but it was still effective. Foxtail Somersault have a classic sound that does pay homage but that doesn't come out sounding to similar to past artists.
- comfortcomes.com

Foxtail Somersault, "Motionland"
From San Francisco, Foxtail Somersault is bringing back the pretty, etheral sounds of the early-90s shoegaze movement. For fans of Slowdive, Pale Saints.
- Rightround Music

Earplugs not included: I can listen to fuzzy walls of noise until my hearing decays to the point that even everyday sounds come across like droney shoegazer songs. And so Foxtail Somersault is a perfect match for me. The San Francisco five-piece lists Slowdive, Explosions in the Sky, and My Bloody Valentine as influences, and on their demo they pull off a surprisingly well-crafted mix of those acts. Guitars twitter and build up songs humbly and quietly until they swell and reach epic heights. Each song is heavily processed in a reverb wash that makes it sound like the band is playing across a mile-wide, emptied orchestra hall. Yep, a perfect match, for sure. - Sean Patrick Maylone - SF Bay area Guardian

Five cards dream pop directly from San Francisco. E cinque anche le firme in calce alle sognanti immagini sonore: Seiken Nakama (chitarre), Catherine Howland (voce), James Spadaro (altre chitarre), Brian Anderson (basso) e Mark Dungey (batteria). And even five signatures at the bottom of the dreamy images sound: Seiken Nakama (guitars), Catherine Howland (vocals), James Spadaro (other guitars), Brian Anderson (bass) and Mark Dungey (drums). I Foxtail Somersault non nascondo le proprie influenze musicali: Slowdive, Lush, Here e anche i più attuali Asobi Seksu. The Foxtail Somersault not hide their musical influences: Slowdive, Lush, Here and even the most current Asobi Seksu. La voce di Catherine carezza le forme sinuose delle canzoni mentre le chitarre costruiscono uno strato di elettricità opalescente dentro il quale si distinguono con diffcoltà tutti i particolari, mentre emerge sempre con chiarezza la struttura ritmica portante. The voice of Catherine caress the sinuous forms of songs while the guitars build a layer of opalescent electricity within which differ with diffcoltà all the details, while always emerge with clarity the structure rhythmic backbone. Si viaggia a stretto contatto con il tetto della troposfera nel magnifico finale di “A Love Song part 1”. It travels in close contact with the roof of the troposphere in the magnificent final of "A Love Song Part 1". - losingtoday.it

Fathom, the EP from the San Francisco based band Foxtail Somersault, is a lot like summer love. It's not particularly deep, but it's intense, captivating, exciting, and, most importantly, it's fun. With simple, dreamy melodies that slowly but surely crescendo into frenzied and distorted walls of sound with healthy doses of reverb, Fathom makes the perfect soundtrack for lounging on a hot summer night. The album's final track, "A Love Song Pt. 1," is especially proper, and fans of Explosions In The Sky will appreciate it in all its wordless majesty. Unfortunately, Fathom also shares that quality of summer and love that we like the least: it ends all too soon, and we're left wanting more.

- Jan Andres
- The Owl