Johnny Fox - More Or Less (Self-Release)

The EP is the fifth release from Johnny – not to be confused with King Blues frontman Johnny ‘Itch’ Fox – and draws heavily from the new Brazilian sound of bands like Supercordas. Three tracks of wonderful soft guitars, mixed with Fox’s soft vocals create a rather enjoyable look into the sounds currently coming out of Brazil, juxtaposed with Johnny’s traditional Western singer-songwriter instincts.

The highlight on the EP comes with All Those Ugly Things, sandwiched between opener Static and closer Laughing Stock. Recorded in Johnny’s bedsit in bustling Sao Paulo, it’s an impressive effort considering the limited resources that he has had to work with in his adopted town. There is a fragility to the music, between the hauntingly slow musicianship and the lifting quality of Fox’s voice present on all three, though the combination is most potent on All Those Ugly Things, at times verging on Tom Waits set in South America with its slow, lounge jazz stylings.

Johnny promises a return in early 2013 for his band The River Fane – it’s a return that’s almost certain to be imbued with some of the fantastic ideas their frontman has picked up on his travels. Each EP has built on from each other for Johnny Fox this year, and hopefully it only continues to get better.