The House Flies return with their first new track since Mannequin Deposit (2024), and “Sweet Foxhound” is nothing short of a haunting re-entry into their gothic post-punk world. The single is also the first to feature second guitarist Burnie Eckardt, whose presence sharpens the band’s already shadowy vibes. Longtime fans will recognize the song from live sets during the last album cycle, but here it emerges in its most refined form, bridging old ground with what’s clearly a darker, heavier future.
“Sweet Foxhound” opens with a low, steady thump of drums, before Alex Riggen’s high, sensual vocal creeps in. He sings intimately, in his unsettling, sultry tone. It’s kinda creepy, but at the same time, introspective and melancholic. As the chorus unfolds, distorted guitars grind with a fuzzy urgency, and Ozzie Woods’ bass pulses like a heartbeat under strain, pulling the listener deeper into the song’s brooding core.
He sings of longing and regret through vivid but cryptic imagery. With the line, “Are you frightened sweet foxhound / Shaken feeling and headstrong,” he brings about the song as a conversation with a lover, also a ghost, vulnerable and defiant. Later, he sings, “And where the salt meets the earth / We were there burying our thirst” conveying his desire while attempting to quench it in secret places, tying intimacy to burial, as if closeness itself carries a death wish.
“Sweet Foxhound” comes crushingly heavy and eerily delicate at once. It coils around you with its smoky atmosphere. Stay tuned to The House Flies, if you are into such brooding musical spaces.
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Review by: Naomi Joan