Foxhole

by Jason LymangroverLess of a Christian group than an indie instrumental post-rock band with similar cinematic qualities as Swords and Maps, Foxhole were formed by Adam Moore and Nathan McBroom in November 2000. They started playing shows and recording in western Kentucky, hodgepodging their members together from one show to the next. Early shows involved random improvisation in their sets and a variety of instruments, including glockenspiels, bottles, and signal generators, as well as homemade inventions (like the "juggophone," "shatterophone," and "pyrophone"). Between 2002 and 2003, the band released two EPs and toured for two weeks on the East Coast. Not long after, McBroom left the band, and the remaining members started taking a more direct approach to their music. Featuring traditional instruments like bass, guitar, and drums as well as woodwinds, brass, and strings, their songs became more dependent upon hypnotic repetition and dramatic builds. In 2004, Seleh Records became interested in the group and funded its full-length, We the Wintering Tree. A few replacement drummers were used to fill in at live shows before the band settled on Jason Torrence, former drummer for Nashville act God's Lonely Man. They started playing shows on a more regular basis and after a year and a half of recording, Foxhole finished their third EP, Push/Pull, in January of 2007. Because of the dense production, Brian Toppenberg was added to fill in the gaps for live shows. After Philadelphia label Burnt Toast Vinyl signed the group, Foxhole made plans to start recording their second full-length, and set a pending release date for early 2008.