Local Review: Fozzy and the Fairies – Birdsong

Fozzy and the Fairies
Birdsong
Self-Released
Street: 06.01
Fozzy and the Fairies = The Doors + Kansas + Miles Kane

Indie folk band Fozzy and The Fairies have released their second album, Birdsong. A follow up from their 2023 release, the live acoustic recordings of The Fox Hole Sessions, Fozzy and The Fairies have seemed to find their pocket and gone all in. Whether it be the familiar country twang in the vocals like on the track “Darlin Damn,” or the super solid instrumentals that sound like they could’ve been written from any decade, the project has a sense of nostalgia I couldn’t help but be appealed by. Clearly inspired by the work of the 70s with just perhaps of a dash Lou Reed, the project almost feels like a love letter to the whole genre of indie-folk. 

A warm trip through the genre, Birdsong seems incredibly influenced by the musicians of yesteryear with the opening track “Everytime I Catch Your Eye” feeling like a love child between “Blackbird” by The Beatles and “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas. The track has a fantastic warm production along with a fantastic organ that really ties together the piece. The guitar work on the opening track is fantastic as well, sounding very George Harrison when it comes to the solo in the later part of the track. From a pure sonic perspective, this album is absolutely fantastic. Keeping tonal similarities but with enough variation to keep the audience intrigued is the greatest strength the group was able to imbue into this project. The variations include fantastic walking bass lines, some occasional harmonica (such as on “If No One Knew”), some flute and horn compositions on the title track, and glittery synths later down the line. Speaking of the title track, it quickly became a tie for my favorite piece on the entire project along with “Watch The Marble Fall.” Despite a minimalistic vocal arrangement on “Birdsong,” the track has such a haunting composition I can’t help but find myself returning to it. Moving further down the project, “Watch The Marble Fall” was almost reminiscent of the Arctic Monkeys album The Car with the groovy bass, plucky guitars, and more sultry vocals but also a keyboard that would have fit right at home on The Beatles’ Revolver. “You and Me” also reminds me very much of Lana Del Rey from a songwriting perspective, along with comparisons to Miles Kane from The Last Shadow Puppets vocally. We even explore more indie rock centered work on the project such as “A Love I Trusted,” with a slow introduction which eventually transforms into a chugging bassline transforming the track along with an organ part that sounds like something from The Doors. 

As I stated before, the great thing about this project is the confidence the group had in maintaining their centered tone, but experimenting with different instrumentation to keep their listeners engaged. Getting to the track “I’ll Hold You,” the group explores some glittery synths and piano while still maintaining their indie folk sentiments with the slowest and most somber ballad of the project. The project also explores jazz elements as well, such as on “I Guess” with the sultry horns and saxophones accompanying the track. Even the last track “Reprise” was able to sonically and satisfyingly bring a close to the project. In conclusion this project is pretty impeccable. Between creating a centered tone of indie folk but experimenting within their orbit of sound, Fozzy and The Fairies managed to create a very compelling piece of work that keeps its audience engaged from beginning to end. If they stay in their bubble of 60s and 70s nostalgia, Fozzy and the Fairies have practically limitless inspiration and options for future work as well. Whatever the future holds for the group, they can easily find themselves having an audience if they maintain the creative and quality work that Birdsong has. –Jake Fabbri

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