Foot release their third album, The Balance of Nature Shifted, on May 1 through Copper Feast Records. The follow-up to the Melbourne-based progressive heavy rocking four-piece’s 2018 LP, Buffalo, it comprises a nine-track and 46-minute run conjured seemingly at the songwriting behest of guitarist/frontman Paul Holden, whose resonant vocal harmonies are an essential characteristic of the band’s approach that have never sounded so full or lush as they do here. Whether it is in the pastoralism of later “Manic Progression” or the full-on riff-fueled push of “Despair on Hope Street” and “E-Sports” at the outset, it’s an Alice in Chains comparison well earned as Holden singly brings together both sides of the Staley/Cantrell dynamic that once set an entire generation of rockers singing from the bottom of their mouth, while somehow retaining an identity of his own throughout.

The wall of fuzz surrounding his voice, from his own guitar as well as that of Dave Pemberton and the thickened tonality of bassist Shaun Stolk, is satisfyingly rich and remains so across The Balance of Nature Shifted, but with drummer Jack Eddie punctuating their undulations and the next chorus never too far off, the listener doesn’t at all get lost in the wash. Foot find a rare balance between aesthetic and craft so as to build on the identity they began to forge on their 2016 self-titled and hold to a largely similar purpose while realizing their form to a new degree of effectiveness and scope. Even the high-low guitar chug interplay on “Break the Altar (Light Shade)” and the solo that caps the three-and-a-half-minute “Ride it Out” tie into this sense of who Foot are and the complexity of the sonic mission they’ve undertaken to best serve their own material.

They succeed in that outright, and it’s difficult to imagine a form of The Balance of Nature Shifted that is more realized than that which the band present. As “Green Embers” shifts from its moody beginning into the sheer largesse of riff that takes hold, lurching in a way that seems to immediately contradict the first two tracks before it, there’s nonetheless a sense of continuity and unfolding that takes place on the LP as a whole, a flow that continues in “Ride it Out” and the (I-wish-)pop(-was-this)-tinged centerpiece “Investment,” as Foot find room for added dynamic in volume trades for what’s their longest cut at 6:28. The only other piece that touches six minutes is closer “High,” which sets its foundation in the blend of melogrunge and fuzzgaze — or was that melogaze and fuzzgrunge? — that has been at the core of the proceedings all along, but patiently digs in its heels and offers one final look at the world the band have created throughout, melodic and encompassing, but hardly serene or still.

Movement can be found underneath “High,” as in even the comparatively minimal “Neighbours,” and as there to some degree is across the entire span, but Foot provide a sure guiding hand — pun absolutely intended — and let the structures of their songs do the work they’re supposed to do in terms of carrying the audience from one end to the other, front to back. Vinyl release will be later in the year, but in linear, digital form, The Balance of Nature Shifted casts an immersive totality of an impression, its melodies and harmonic accomplishment working as a distinguishing factor that’s only bolstered by the thoughtful perspective and rhythmic push surrounding, and even as its title and cover art hint at nature rising to undo the various efforts (which isn’t to say horrors) wrought by humanity, it reminds that there is still beauty to be found in a world of seemingly endless violence and decay.

There is more than an edge of psychedelia to Foot‘s songwriting, but that doesn’t come at the expense of craft, and isn’t necessarily primary to the band’s purpose. Rather, it feeds into the atmosphere of the songs themselves even as it emerges from the attention to detail that’s given to tone, to the methodical execution of pace, and the vibrant melodicism showcased in Holden‘s echoing layers of voice. Thus it becomes another element of the progressiveness of their take overall, rather than simply exploration for its own sake — though of course nothing against that either, and certainly in listening to Buffalo and Foot, the band are nothing if not willful in their forward creative evolution. The Balance of Nature Shifted bears the fruit of that mindful engagement.

It’s my pleasure to host the premiere of “Green Embers.” Please find it on the player below, followed by some comment from Holden on the track and more release info from the PR wire.

And please enjoy:

Paul Holden on “Green Embers”:

In relation to the musical side of “Green Embers,” I think around that point I had been listening to a lot of My Sleeping Karma for inspiration on different sonic textures and in particular, the world music characteristics contained in their songs. I approached the intro of the song with these concepts in mind.

The remainder of the song is a pretty straightforward fuzz rock song. I recorded the heavy riff through an Earthquaker Devices Hoof V2 Fuzz Pedal straight into a Sovtek head. I have always dug the contrast of a heavy riff combined with a clean harmonised vocal sound. You don’t always have to go hard with your vocal even if the band are going hard.

Lyrically, I wrote the tune after reading about the findings of a royal commission into the misconduct of the four biggest banks in Australia. It confirmed what we pretty much already knew which is multinational banks are completely fucking corrupt. It’s that unbridled greed thing, which remains a pretty obvious message throughout the rest of the record too.

‘The Balance of Nature Shifted’ is the follow-up to Foot’s acclaimed second album ‘Buffalo’ and is due for release digitally May 1 2020 with a vinyl release slated for August.

Foot take their well-honed desert rock sound one step further on ‘The Balance of Nature Shifted’, with songs going harder than they ever have before on a Foot record. Fans that were on board for their self-titled debut and follow-up ‘Buffalo’ are sure to be satisfied while newer audiences will love this classic blend of Queens of the Stone Age meets Alice in Chains.’

NOTE: Copper Feast Records will be releasing The Balance of Nature Shifted as a double vinyl later in mid-2020, featuring vinyl exclusive bonus tracks and demos from the recording process.

Foot are:
Paul Holden (Vox, Guitar)
Dave Pemberton (Guitar)
Shaun Stolk (Bass)
Jack Eddie (Drums)

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Tags: Australia, Copper Feast Records, Foot, Foot The Balance of Nature Shifted, Melbourne, The Balance of Nature Shifted

This entry was posted on Monday, February 24th, 2020 at 3:48 pm and is filed under audiObelisk, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.