Fox Run Five – Holding Out Hope – Double Album
This is an ambitious set that came together even with one musician knowing it would be his last. All the more poignant & important. The band members came together for the last time to make music. Not build a barn, hike in the mountains, or sit alone in a room regretting what was never done. Instead, they wrote songs & made music with their friend. Something that would last & could be shared with others, & he’d be there still.
This 24-track Holding Out Hope (Drops Sept 12/Independent) was produced by Fox Run Five & recorded live at their studio in Sudbury, MA. The album begins with a ballad, “A Villanelle for Angeline,” a pensive melody in the tradition of the quieter Bruce Springsteen tunes with a pinch of Don McLean discipline. Usually, albums don’t begin with ballads, but this was a wise choice. Arranged with significance. Immediately engaging & expressive if not totally memorable after one listen.
The second tune is slow & meditative. Excellent lyrics in “Holding Out Hope” with a below-the-surface soulfulness performed with more feeling than just ability. The group is consistently cathartic through their endeavor. The majority of the tunes pieced together for this collection all have expressive value & are endearing. Music itself gives us moments of value. Fox Run Five succeeded in crafting such quality for this album.
Some tunes fall back into a middle-of-the-road formula to keep the cohesion of a soulful mainstream appeal. They have a laid-back, lite-jazzier & sometimes Spanish whisper approach (“Rules of the Dance”) that was the thrust of popular music in the ‘80s. There’s an exuberance that permeates with intimate vocal shaping. There’s little showboating & many songs nimbly trip along with skillful playing with sensitivity instead of fireworks.
Several pieces are more soulful than what the CD artwork would suggest. Like early Motown/Tamla, where some are quite creative. “She Can Only See The Light” has falsetto but is arranged with clever instrumentation & Temptations-type backup vocals. The inclusion of some trombone adds pepper to the soulful sauce. While “Let There Be Light” lends a quasi-religious gospel undertone with a clean shuffle that drifts through the melody, a wah-wah guitar squeezes in between the percussive & synth bearings.
The first muscular tune is “Misery Town” with its husky bassline & exuberant vocal, more rooted in the blues than soul. Punchier, edgier & impulsively noirish. The lead guitar is mixed down, but it’s a nice, suggestive effect. The voice is treated a bit, but not much. The words are riveting.
More soulful excursions start CD # 2 with the cliché-oriented “Desperate Pleasures” that’s more commercially ready & nothing you haven’t heard before. “Monkey” dips into novelty areas best avoided. “The Ballad of Smokey Evans” slides into schlocky country. Good piano, but unless you’re in a rodeo bar six beers deep, this isn’t for listeners who appreciated CD # 1.
The country impulse continues better with the ballad “One Foot Out The Door” that would’ve been better suited to Willie Nelson. Totally different from everything previous is “Feel Alive.” This has meat on its bones. Strange vocal effect & bristling dark arrangement. More in a Tom Waits creepy atmosphere with occasional Indian sitar swipes.
“When You Lie” is the late Tom Prasada-Rao’s (vocals/keys/guitars/bass/violin) ballad with intense melancholy words. Quite a reflective tune sung with grace & danger. Well done. Powerful without being overpowering.
Then, surprisingly, comes the classic of the album — “It Would Have Been Enough,” which is sung well on this LP but…would’ve been an excellent Frank Sinatra song. He had the necessary vocal fabric in his intonation. This is one of the best easy listening tunes with strings on this showcase. A pleasure.
The album as a whole provides levels of feeling. It has moments of achingly beautiful melodies & many, many songs are well-written & fluent. Much here to admire. Despite some blemishes, the band writes & performs convincing & memorable material.
Highlights – CD #1 (43:27) – “A Villanelle for Angeline,” “Holding Out Hope,” “She Can Only See The Light,” “Let There Be Light,” “Misery Town,” “Rules of the Dance,” & “It’s Alright To Be Wrong.”
CD #2 (43:52) – “Feel Alive,” “When You Lie,” “It Would Have Been Enough,” “Paradise,” “Peace, My Heart,” “How We Say Goodbye,” & “Don’t Wait.”
Musicians – Neale Eckstein (vocals/guitars), Eric Schwartz (vocals/keys/guitars/bass/flute), Jagoda (vocals/drums/percussion), Matt Nakoa (vocals/keys/guitars/bass/trombone/string arrangements), & strings: Sarah Whitney (1st violin), Justin Ouellet (2nd violin), Jason Amos (viola), & Rafael Popper-Keizer (cello).
Color image courtesy of the band’s website photo gallery. CD @ Apple & https://foxrunfive.com/home
Song Premiere: https://americanahighways.org/2025/07/15/song-premiere-fox-run-five-holding-out-hope/
