The Foxymorons

Convention says bands should pick an image. In order for marketing machines to pitch your band to consumers, you need to project a look, a sound, an attitude to which fans will relate. At least, that’s what Convention says. The Foxymorons don’t care much for convention. Like their power-pop colleagues Fountains of Wayne, they’ll go anywhere the spirit leads musically, throwing identity out the proverbial window. Plus, just look at their name -- would you want to market that?

The Foxymorons, made up of David Dewese and Jerry James, split their time between Dallas and Nashville and have played together since the high school. Their most recent album, Bible Stories, is their first in five years and fits in perfectly with their previous releases. But, unlike Fountains of Wayne, who reference schmaltzy 1970s hits, country, traditional folk, hard rock, and other major stylistic touch-points, The Foxymorons choose to limit their winks and nods just to indie rock. Bible Stories ends up a tour de force through the past 30 years of less-than-popular pop music.

The first half of Bible Stories, for example, fish-tails like an ice road-trucker. The album’s opener, “Out of Control,” plays like Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life,” but turns into Teenage Fanclub for the chorus. “Skinny Cow Blues” has all the lazy swagger of Pavement’s best mid-tempo tracks, while “This Too Shall Pass” evokes Elliot Smith’s sweetest moments. Then, the band rolls right into “Say It Aloud,” which almost out-Dinosaur Jr.’s Dinosaur Jr. And while the second half settles down a bit, they still throw in a hint of early Guided By Voices with the 52-second-long lo-fi outing, “All You Ever Wanted.”

Within many of these tracks are clean acoustics, Nashville-cat guitar fills, or lush vocal harmonies that might not have originally fit in with what The Foxymorons are referencing. But, it’s those bits of traditional song craft that give the band what cohesiveness it possesses, and helps Bible Stories sound new but instantly familiar.

And the material is strong throughout. Just like with the aforementioned Teenage Fanclub, which features three singer/songwriters and can take the best from each songwriter for each record, Dewese and James are able to contribute their best ideas without becoming overpowered by a single voice. Those alternating voices help keep the album fresh from track-to-track as the ideas shift, and when those voices share the same tastes and vision, the results can sometimes be as magical as they are on Bible Stories. - Pegasus News

The Foxymorons are a duo of childhood friends hailing originally from Mesquite, Texas. Their first two albums established their love of classic pop and the alt-country sounds of the mid-90s, but the trail went cold after 2001's Rodeo City as David Dewese and Jerry James worked on other things in separate parts of the country. Hesitation Eyes is their long-time-coming third LP, recorded via the ever-popular tapes-through-the-mail technique. Strangely, it's also their highest-fi record yet.

Dewese and James alternate lead vocals, switching off every other song for most of the record. One of them-- they never specify who sings on what-- has a powerful, dusky croon, while the other gets by with a cranky indie rock croak. The two sound best, though, in two-part harmony, especially on the title track, which closes the album with a blast of glorious falsetto power-pop, tambourine filling in the backbeat amid thumping toms and descending guitar chords that read like a tour of Cheap Trick's greatest hits. The band takes a similar approach on "Just Because", which rightfully should be the album opener, but is instead slotted behind "Harvard Hands", a song that's too slow and uneventful for track one billing.

Sequencing errors aside, the record is characterized by strong songcraft and a few nicely chosen sonic flourishes, such as the e-bowed lead guitar on "Everything Changes" or the weird, spacey noises that open "I'm Still in Love" in a universe somewhere parallel to the minimal piano and drum shuffle of the song itself. As such, Hesitation Eyes is a sturdy album, a slightly more sophisticated update of the band's past output, and an indication that even with a non-traditional working relationship, the duo still has room to grow.
- Pitchfork Media

The ghost of heartbroken, mid-'90s complaint rockers like Pavement and the Lemonheads. This southwestern duo combines the catchiness of Summerteeth-era Wilco and the sweetness of Evan Dando’s vocals (pre-rehab). Lyrically, the band takes major cues from Steven Malkmus, specifically in the song, “Between the Lines.” Singer David Dewese drawls, “You’re a pedigreed girl / and we’re a perfect match," lifted straight from Pavement’s “Spit on a Stranger” (“Honey I’m a prize / and you’re a catch / and we’re a perfect match”). The Foxymorons can be a little derivative, but their lo-fi combination of indie rock and alt-country is like a cold beer at the end of a long working day: soothing as hell. - SPIN Magazine

In the Grand Critical Discussion of early-’90s albums, Teenage Fanclub’s Bandwagonesque tends to get the shaft. Musicologists are far more likely to slaver over Nirvana’s searing riffs while paying little note to TFC’s sugar-sharp harmonies, glorious hooks and Big Star revivalism. Not the Foxymorons. The Nashville/Mesquite duo’s third album, Hesitation Eyes, is a lovely tip-of-the-hat to the Glaswegian power poppers along with bands they influenced, from Summerteeth-era Wilco to Matthew Sweet. The dark and finely tuned songs are written, alternately and over a distance, by Jerry James and David Dewese, natives of Mesquite who met at church camp (Dewese now lives in Nashville). Songs like the title track are breezy, imminently listenable music for adults, but melancholy courses beneath the shimmering surface: “I’ve tried to make things fit, but they never do. I’ve tried to take the easy way. I’m still in love, do you love me, too?” James asks in a song called “I’m Still in Love.” Mixed by Matt Pence at Echolab Studios, Hesitation Eyes is an album about bittersweet endings, about the sting of nostalgia, about breakups and all that other bullshit. It isn’t hip or edgy or cool; it’s just genuine and a little bit heartbroken, which is far better anyway. - The Dallas Observer

Turning 21 as an indie rocker is the motherlode. Turning 31 as an indie rocker is just a mother. If you’re still playing music, you’re supposed to have, you know, evolved. Go Brazilian. Compose minimalist film scores. Anything but the same old, same old. Which is exactly why the Foxymorons are such a breath of fresh air. The duo of David Dewese and Jerry James loved alt-rock bands like Teenage Fanclub and the Lemonheads 10 years ago, and dammit, they still love them now. The Foxymorons’ gusto for the days of honeyed hooks and distortion pedals makes their third CD gobs of fun. As on previous efforts, Dewese and James split the singing duties democratically. This time out, though, the high-gloss recording allows you to really savor James’ reedy, pouting vocals and Dewese’s Texas-fried version of Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake (right down to the stoner bayybeeee’s). The harmonies are dreamy; the lyrics satisfyingly full of disdainful women; and the title track gives Dinosaur Jr.’s ’90s anthem “Freak Scene” a run for its rockin’ money. Stay young, my foxy friends, you’re on to something good here. - San Francisco Weekly

This blissful collection of lo-fi guitar pop evokes nostalgia for a time so nice it may have never existed. Or maybe it’s a soundtrack to a teenager’s dreams of timeless summers. It’s also fairly derivative (eclectically and beautifully so), yet original enough in the sense that no other group could have made this album (in the same way that Guided By Voices transcends the various groups it’s aping). “The Duke of Gloucester” evokes XTC, while “Going Down” is pure skinny-tie power pop. “Hands-On” is a Sebadoh sound-alike, while “Bombay: A Silver Anthem” and “Simply Enough” are gray album era Velvet Underground. There are even echoes of the upbeat, melodic brand of alt-country peddled by folks like Wilco and the Jayhawks (“Broken Heart,” “Always,” “Something New”). But then again, these two guys pull it off with enough panache to make you believe they’ve never heard those records. - AllMusic Guide

The Foxymorons aren't exactly local, or a band. Sure, half the duo – Jerry James – calls Mesquite home. James' collaborator, David Dewese, lives in Nashville. And the two release albums and perform live. But they do these things only sporadically.

Bible Stories is their first record in five years. Considering the music, though, it's difficult to fault their approach. The Foxymorons have been playing together since 1994, and their hook-laden, witty power-pop reflects more than just years of experience.

James and Dewese clearly have an intimate knowledge of one another's playing styles; they sound more like old friends with a natural knack for songwriting than a formal band. It's a playful, casual feeling that pervades Bible Stories. Both trade off vocal duties and guitar from song to song, enlisting friends to fill out their lineup with drums and piano. Yet the back-and-forth never sounds like two different voices.

Big Star, Nilsson Schmilsson-era Harry Nilsson, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement – the Foxymorons coalesce every hint of their influences seamlessly, expertly referencing a broad swath of '90s indie rock and '70s alt-country while remaining distinctive, and adding their own flavor.

Bible Stories was recorded by the Foxymorons in a Nashville basement last winter. Perhaps the duo's radiating confidence stems from having such firm control over the material. Most of the music is ostensibly conventional, direct pop-rock. The guys use traditional instrumentation and the melodies are immediately captivating.

But like Austin's Spoon, James and Dewese have a talent for subtlety, making music that is often deceptively simple because it's almost too catchy at times. They can create a lot out of nothing, using perfectly timed bridges to transcend their choruses.

Often, the duo interrupts a track's progressive drive to pull back layers, focusing on a stark, ethereal harmonization, spare percussion or the striking of a lone piano key. Similarly, on the countrified Beach Boys tune, "Mesketeers," it's the least forceful element in the track that's ultimately the most rewarding. Placed at the bottom of the mix, a droning organ hums purely, majestically, slyly driving the entire song.

Trafficking in equally sentimental and self-deprecating reflections on youth, it's the sort of music only aging hipsters could produce. Not that I'm complaining. There's more swimming beneath the surface of the record than the music lets on. Bible Stories might not change your life, but it could very well – and unexpectedly – brighten your mood.

The Foxymorons will release the record on Tuesday. Find out more at foxymorons.com. - Dallas Morning News

Mesquite, Tx./Nashville, Tenn. pop-rockers The Foxymorons have mined the ’90s in some damn catchy ways for three albums, and on August 24 they’ll issue their fourth long-player, Bible Stories, via Foxyphoton. It’s been five years since the release of Hesitation Eyes. It’s nice to know high school BFFs/co-band leaders, David Dewese and Jerry James, can still kick out a jangly-as-hell, Pavement-esque rocker like “Skinny Cow Blues.” The piano-led cut builds into something quite extraordinary. - Under The Radar

The Foxymorons are a happy power-pop duo out of good old boy Mesquite, Texas, and made up of David Dewese and Jerry James. The band’s history stretches back as far as high school when the two friends first began jamming together. It seems that The Foxymorons are just a couple of guys still making the unpretentious pop-punk of my youth. They’re an interesting case, these two -– beginning as far back as they did (starting up in ’94, their first releases in ‘98 and ’99), David and Jerry have lived through a lot of great pop music while making their own. The end result is a group that has stayed true to their sound while at the same time incorporated a good deal of diversity by way of outside musical influences spanning the last 15+ years. The band’s most recent effort, entitled Bible Stories, clearly finds inspiration in everything from Teenage Fan Club to Pavement to Guided by Voices, but what it reminds me most of is an old favorite of mine from my years in California: J Church. Like so many of Lance Hahn’s (RIP) compositions, today’s Song of the day, “Out of Control,” has a quiet confidence that many will find disarming and familiar. Despite its title and lyrics, “Out of Control” is a reserved be-bopper of a tune that jingle-jangles with coming-of-age John Hughesy (also RIP) positivity. Maybe try listening to it in the shower!? - KEXP