Twenty nineteen was a big year for the Southern California punk band Foxy, who came back from a long break to release an exceptional six-song EP Can’t Stop Us, and then followed up earlier this year with this equally well done tribute record to the English legends X-Ray Spex.
Of course, when your band consists of current and ex-members of Social Distortion, The Damned, 4-Gasm, English Dogs, Greg Antista & The Lonely Streets, and The Pushers, you’re pretty much destined for greatness. However, after a 15-year hiatus, I’m not sure if any of us expected a return this triumphant for Foxy.
The quick listen starts with “Bondage/Cliche Mash Up”, where Geoff Yeaton’s soulful saxophone collides with a driving punk rock pace that’s both melodic and gritty with an old school feel. Although it may seem redundant, the following tracks on this tribute side are “I Am A Cliche” and “Oh Bondage Up Yours,” but they’re so well done and classic that they deserve their own tracks, too. While the former moves with an instantly catchy, sing-along quality, the latter brings plenty of attitude and energy to the timeless punk anthem that X-Ray Spex are still known for 40-plus years later.
Side B offers us three of the best tunes from Can’t Stop Us, where “Last Glimmer” opens with razor sharp instrumentation and tuneful backing vocals, while “Frozen” displays incredible percussion alongside a chorus you won’t forget anytime soon. “Can’t Stop Us” closes out the record with dual gender vocals and infectious “woah ohs.”
This enthusiastic tribute is a quick but satisfying listen from the resurgent Foxy, and definitely worth checking out.
