Despite two attempts to crack the charts in July 1996 and November 1997, the record-buying public failed to embrace what I reckon is one of the great long-lost Scottish singles from the mid 90s.Foil were a coming together of members of a couple of guitar-rock bands called The Naked See and Mutiny Strings. They formed in 1996 and went on to release five different singles and two LPs, all on the 13th Hour label which was an offshoot of Mute Records. So in a sense, they owed their recording career to the commercial success of Erasure and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
Dazed, Sick and Unwell. Can I Do Anything? These were the words of their debut single that had a sound that owed a lot to influences from across the pond such as Pixies and Sugar, but there was still something quite unmistakably Scottish about them thanks to the rasping Celtic vocal delivery of Hugh Duggie. Sadly, they were band in wrong place at the wrong time.
Not only was singing in your own accent considered to be a joke (unless you were American or Welsh in which it was only acceptable if you sang in your own language), but the critics weren't wanting gritty or noisy guitar-led bands anymore. The peak of Britpop had come and gone, and given that it had replaced grunge as the flavour of the day, something totally different was now required. Which was found in the phenomenal growth of a new type of dance/electronica with the likes of Orbital, Underworld, The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, and The Prodigy becoming the choice of poison for so many....
Which was a shame for Foil as they made a noise and racket that was joyous and memorably anthemic, particularly on all of the singles which were tailor-made for blasting out over your radio. The break they really needed was for one of their songs to have been picked up and featured on one or more of the movie soundtrack LPs that were in vogue at the time as every mogul tried to repeat the success of Trainspotting. But it just didn't happen.
Reviver Gene was first issued in July 1996, followed by Let It Go Black three months later. It was 1997 when the boys went into the studio armed with a bunch of killer-hooks and fine lyrics from which they emerged with more great singles in Are You Enemy? and Don't Come Around. When neither of these picked up anything in the way of sales, a re-recorded version of Reviver Gene was issued in November 1997, on CD and limited edition 7" green vinyl.
Still no joy.
Still, what do the record buying public know? After all, Reviver Gene was re-issued in a week when Barbie Girl by Aqua was at #1.....
The boys and girls in the promotional arm of 13th Note used words that describe the band very well:-
Taut, wired, drenched in equal parts paranoia and black humour yet hiding a tender heart. Foil play music that reaffirms your faith in the healing powers of the electric guitar. The sounds emanating from their debut album reveal a diversity that defies typecasting, and a knack for writing songs that go straight to the heart. Drenched in equal parts paranoia and black humour, yet hiding a tender heart, they sacrifice neither addictive melodies nor song writing prowess to the articulation of raw emotion.
mp3 : Foil - Reviver Gene
mp3 : Foil - Sedate Me
mp3 : Foil - Hey You
mp3 : Foil - Play Dead
Incidentally, the band have nothing at all to do with Foil, a San Diego based band of the mid-noughties, which is the band you will be directed to if you type in 'Foil - myspace'
And if you were a fan of Moby way way way back in the days, then you might have caught Foil playing live as they were the support on the Animal Rights tour.
Happy Listening
4 comments:
To me, Foil's music is drenched in equal parts paranoia and black humour, yet hiding a tender heart.
Seriously though, I really like all four of the tracks on this EP. I only saw them live once and only own their "Never Got Hip" CD - actually scrap that, I only own the box now, the CD itself went walkabout some years ago.
There are very few bands to have crossed my path where I know one of the members. Hugh and I sat next to each other for a year as 15 year olds as we studied for our Biology O-Grade and also shared a couple of other classes that year. He was a good mate for a while but our encounters are very rare these days.
However, I know him well enough to have always found it difficult to judge his music objectively. But finally, enough time has passed for me to declare, that I bloody like Foil.
Apropos of nothing, I can't hear Arab Strap without thinking about Hugh's singing on "Never Got Hip" and therefore have always found it difficult to judge them too.
Oh, and he's still owe me a tenner for declaring in Mr Ettles English class, aged 15, that: "I will win Wimbledon within 10 years".
This is a bit more like it. Return to form after days of pansy pop.
Perhaps this isn't the time to mention then all those drunken nights out with Hugh and staggering back together to my bedroom (which doubled as a living room). Hugh was on the couch okay.
I seem to recall Hugh saying that Moby's success with "Play" financed the second album, which he hates. In fact, I probably have more of his stuff now than he does himself.
I take the Sense's point but I've always thought Foil were a brilliant band, friend or not. Seen them live many times and they were blistering. Admittedly Hugh's always been a moody bugger on stage and sometimes they suffered a bit from that.
My one regret is that you didn't mention this to me earlier in the week and I'd have given you the video for Reviver Gene which features truly the worst acting in the world. And Hugh as a tramp - a look that won't surprise the Sense! I tried to email it to you but my server won't let me.
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