Foxwarren was formed about 10 years earlier. It consists of brothers Darryl Kissick and Avery Kissick, accompanied by members Dallas Bryson and Andy Shauf. The band is named after the Kissicks' Manitobahometown. Shauf and Bryson, who were school friends from Caronport, first met the Kissick brothers through Regina's music scene and through the Sears call centre, where Shauf and Avery worked.[8]
Except for one song which was recorded in 2017, the entirety of the songs on the album were recorded four years earlier in Regina and Manitoba. Shauf had presented the album to his record labels and they were receptive to it,[8] but the album remained unreleased as Shauf was busy with his solo touring and recording schedule.[6] The band did however anticipate it would be released, with Foxwarren's bassist Darryl Kissick calling it "just a matter of when would it make sense to put it out".[8] All tracks on the album were recorded by the band themselves with the exception of "Your Small Town", which was recorded by the band with sound engineer Rob Morrison.[9]
Foxwarren was Shauf's first project since the release of his acclaimed concept album The Party (2016), also released by Anti-.[10] It was widely billed as being Foxwarren's "self-titled debut".[5][11] However, the band previously released an album entitled Has Been Defeated in 2011. That album, however, is radically stylistically different from the self-titled LP.[8] It was also never pressed on vinyl.[12]CBC described Has Been Defeated as not being "widely known or recognized by the band".[1]NOW Toronto described Foxwarren as being "technically Foxwarren's sophomore album, but Shauf has been rather secretive about the group's past work."[13]
Release
Foxwarren performing at Codfish Hollow in Maquoketa, Iowa, July 2019
The album was first announced on November 5, 2018, alongside the release of the single "Everything Apart".[14] A second single, "To Be", was released on November 14, 2018.[15]
Foxwarren was met with positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 from reviews from professional critics, the album received a score of 79, based on 8 reviews.[16]
Wyndham Wallace of Uncut assessed it as an "understated debut of mature sophistication".[20]AllMusic's Marcy Donelson wrote, "Foxwarren remains both off-kilter and irresistibly comforting, like the feeling of the pull of sleep."[2] Margaret Farrell of Pitchfork wrote, "These songs suggest the continuous struggle to be comforted, and Shauf finds himself stronger in the company of others. Even in the detail of lonesome battles, Foxwarren's kinship and warmth persist."[5]No Ripcord's Juan Edgardo Rodriguez wrote, "Shauf and his troupe handle their debut project with an exceptional level of attention and care that points to its potential longevity."[18]Mojo called it a "likable debut" which "peaks on "Everything Apart"'s breezy kosmische shuffle, and Lennon-ish "I'll Be Alright", but its airiness doesn't always work."[17]
^Technically their debut album was Has Been Defeated (2011) but it is "isn't widely known or recognized by the band".[1] A preponderance of publications call Foxwarren their debut instead.[2][3][4][5]
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