Liam Vincent & The Odd Foxes

Liam Vincent and The Odd Foxes (Liam Vincent – vocals, guitar, harmonica, Rebecca Mileham – violin, vocals, piano, David Walls – mandolin, guitar, vocals, Tom Caswell – bass) started playing music together two months before Covid-19 hit, and the first lockdown happened. Liam was able to carry on writing and, with the rest of the band, recorded a five song EP remotely. The Pierson V. Post EP is the culmination of that process, managing to capture the feel of being in the room together, even though nobody was.
The five songs on the EP draw on Liam’s roots in an Irish musical family, with an authentic acoustic Irish folk sound established right from the first track, ‘We Are The Monsters‘. The fiddle and mandolin add to the toe tapping rhythm to make the listener feel that they are indeed having a live music experience from the comfort of home – The Odd Foxes would be an awesome band to see live.
The second track, ‘Sunday Song‘ is the strongest on the EP and tackles the issues of what has happened to many of us over the last year. A busy, toe trapping melody that elevates the rhythm up a notch, Liam’s lead vocals have an earnestness about them that support the lyrics:
“…will you find ways to make better days…it’s time to change…throw away yesterday’s ideas of taking what you want”
Consumerism and the ever present need to buy “stuff we don’t need” has seemed less and less important to society in the past year – our view of what is important in our lives has undergone a somewhat radical change. ‘Sunday Song’ asks whether we return to that selfish, take what you want society or whether we really do make a change for the better.
‘Race To The Bottom‘ has a gentler rhythm and sound, asking whether we have lost ourselves in our current society, posing a question that has been asked for many a year. However, perhaps due to the restrictions and loss caused by Covid-19, we have a better chance than previous generations who have asked this same question. If ‘Race To The Bottom’ was a gentler sound, ‘Vanity Project‘, the song that follows is very much not in this style. A good old fashioned protest song, ‘Vanity Project’ looks at the cost to society of rampant consumerism, powered by the aforesaid vanity projects costing billions of pounds with very little advantage to the vast majority of the population.
Pierson V. Post is a fine addition to the folk music scene, the songs especially coming alive when Liam’s vocals are harmonised with those of Rebecca – they complement each other enormously.
Liam’s advice for aspiring musicians encompasses an ideal approach to independent music:
“If you’re truly passionate about creating music (and not just being popular on social media) then stick to what you believe in and just keep plugging away at it. Stand for something, don’t be scared to put your values across in your output and you’ll find your audience. Keep an open mind, take in everything that’s around you but don’t try and follow what’s popular – be true to yourself because what you’re doing could become the next trend. You’ll never be a pioneer if you’re chasing what’s already popular. Having said that, don’t be too stubborn to listen to outside opinions, especially during recording sessions. Sometimes having that different perspective or fresh pair of ears can really help push something on to the next level
As a general rule in life, not just in music, you should be nice to people and be generous with your time – if someone is interested in what you do, you can’t take that for granted – even having just one person that’s passionate about what you’re doing is huge.” - Angry Baby

- Who is in the band and where are you all based?
The band is:
Liam Vincent – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Rebecca Mileham – Violin, Piano, Vocals
David Walls – Mandolin, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Jack Nejzer – Electric Guitar, Vocals
Matt Berry – Bass, Vocals
Paul Disley – Drums
(Tom Caswell played bass on the new ep)
I live in Kettering now and most of us are from Northants but a few of the guys are just over the border in Beds and Oxfordshire.

- How/why/what/when did you guys get together?
In 2019 I started to get a few song ideas together, after a long time not writing, and wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do with them. Initially it felt very much like a solo project and I just roped in mates to help me record the instruments I couldn’t play. As time went on though I missed that camaraderie that you get with a band. So early last year The Odd Foxes was formed – just in time for lockdown!

- How would you describe your sound? Who are your main influences in music?
The music falls somewhere in the middle of Folk, Indie, Rock.
Musically my influences for this band are bands like Levellers, The Waterboys, The Saw Doctors, Nick Parker, Frank Turner, Counting Crows and also some of the more traditional side of Irish music that I would hear growing up. Other, less obvious influences, are bands like The Lovely Eggs and The Cribs – for their DIY attitude more than sound (although I love both bands). The Lovely Eggs really inspired me to get back into writing again.

- What was the reaction like to the earlier releases, like the 'Music Is For The Week' mini-album?
So far the reaction has been really positive. The first 2 singles I put out – Vanity Project and Hate My Plate seemed to go down really well with people. The HMP video was filmed a couple of weeks before lockdown last year and then things ground to a halt because we were rehearsing and getting ready to start playing our first gigs. So it was just frustrating that we couldn’t build on that and go out and play gigs to rooms full of people dressed as fruit, veg and bacon (you’d have to have seen the video).
With not being able to do much else, I set myself the challenge of writing, recording and making a video for 7 songs in 7 days. I wasn’t allowed to use any old ideas, I just had to get up that morning and see what happened. The result of that experiment was the Music Is For The Week mini album. Some of it feels a little half-baked but I also feel like it was really good for me to put myself under that pressure and I got a few gems out of it. Besides, people knew what the deal was, so nobody was expecting fully polished, finished pieces and everyone was really supportive. It was tough going, especially as it was hot and sunny out and I was cooped up indoors for 13 hours a day, but totally worthwhile.

- Tell us everything about this new EP
Well, starting a band in 2020 was definitely tough.
Gigs were cancelled and studios closed. I carried on writing and, with The Odd Foxes, worked on the art of recording remotely and capturing the feel of being in the room, even though nobody was.
Being authentic and raw is a big thing for me, I didn’t want to go down the route of using midi drums etc. I hate all that stuff. It’s just not me. So the decision was made to create an acoustic EP this time around and I’m really proud of how it’s all come together. It was stressful at times because we were having to work remotely, and it can be hard to get your ideas and thoughts across in those situations sometimes. Hearing the songs come to life in a different context was great. Working out how to present songs that are normally played by quite a loud 6-piece band in a more intimate way with just 4 of us was interesting and think we achieved it by making sure there was a lot of space and room for the melodies to breathe.
The early reviews and comments have been really positive so far. So all of that stress was worth it!

- What are your live shows like?
The great thing about this band and something I was really interested in at the start is that we can go out in different formations to suit whatever is needed in a particular setting - from a more intimate 3- or 4-piece acoustic set to a full on 6-piece band. The songs work in every context. Personally, I’m looking forward to getting the full band out there though and rattling some ribcages. Usually when I write, I try to imagine what a song would feel like when played on a stage like the Roadmender.


- Are you part of a wider scene in Northamptonshire, playing with like-minded bands? Any favourite bands/venues to play with?
We are so new and everything has been on hold but hopefully when things get better we can get out and start meeting people. I heard a band called Pieces on BBC Introducing the other week when we were on it, I thought they sounded ace. So I’d like to check them out live at some point. I used to be in a band in the early 2000s called Orko and there was a really healthy scene back then with bands like Mendoza, T.A.N.A.O.U., Kapowski, Creech/Nukeateen, Fuzo, High Drivers, Autonomy, Screenstar, Pilfa and so many others whose names escape me at the moment (I’m getting old). Although we felt a little on the outside of it all, too indie for the metal kids/too heavy for the indie kids, it felt like a great time to be in a band - loads of places to play and people just willing to help you out with stuff. I’m still gutted the Soundhaus is no more. I have so many fond memories of that place back in the day, from club nights, discovering new bands, making friends with other local bands and we got to support Biffy Clyro there a couple of weeks before their debut album came out. I wonder what ever happened to those guys?!


- has lockdown given you new opportunities to be creative? Or is it just one big frustration?
A bit of both really. The 7 songs in 7 days thing, that was a really worthwhile exercise and even though it probably wasn’t brilliant for my mental health, I’ll definitely do it again – it certainly sharpens your skills. So, from a creativity point of view, it’s actually been great, I’ve put loads of time into learning new things, trying stuff out and trying to become a better songwriter. The big frustration is not being able to rehearse properly and gig though.

- What was the last album you bought/streamed?
The last 2 albums I bought were Peace by Levellers and Night Network by The Cribs. I went for a run the other night and streamed Inter Alia by At The Drive In, forgot what a good album that is. I also listened to Rust In Peace by Megadeth but the less said about that the better!

- What is your burning desire for the band to do in the future? What plans do you have?

The main focus now, after promoting the new EP, is to get back in a room with the band and get a set together, so we can get out there and play some shows. - New Boots