Written for a long unreleased children's book (https://vimeo.com/106952834), the title derives from the “sound” that the venetian gondola man would call out as he turned a corner to warn other boatmen, as one might yell “fore” or “timber”.

The original writing prompt:
The sky outside was a grayish, olive color and there was a terribly uncomfortable chill floating in the air. From the dark lonely sky little pieces of what seemed to be snow slowly drifted down toward the calm waters. As a tiny, glistening flake softly floated down to me, I gently stretched out my arm to reach for it. When the speck finally landed in my hand it disappeared like any snowflake would. From the moment it touched my skin I knew this was not an ordinary snowflake, it looked like a snowflake, and it even behaved like a snowflake, but there was one thing particularly odd about this tiny flake. A regular snowflake would have been frozen, but this strange flake was not frozen, it was not even cold. It was the opposite, actually. That’s right, it was warm. The fog outside was extremely thick, blurring most anything further 15 feet in the distance. Yet somehow, through these strange, snow-like flakes and this dense fog, I was able to see an island floating in the distance. At the exact moment that I spotted this mysterious little island the temperature dropped from a comfortable sixty degrees Fahrenheit to an unsettling forty-five degrees Fahrenheit. I knew I had found what I had set out to find, this had to be Murkville. From my location I was unable to make out much detail, but seeing this island after several days of seeing absolutely nothing at all, was comforting. Even from this distance the island seemed extremely dreary and incredibly murky. Eerie sounds of harmonized moaning produced a beautiful, yet haunting orchestra that crept through the sky making the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight. As we drifted closer to the island dead trees peeked above the waters and clawed at the bottom of the boat, crying for someone to save them from the dark, dreadful water. Every once in a while I felt a strange bumping against the bottom of the boat and heard enchanted whispers in a language I could not comprehend. I could only imagine what was lurking beneath this rickety, old boat. If this were any other day I would have felt entirely uneasy, for I was not use to such an uncomfortable atmosphere. But on this day, I was on a mission and I was convinced that I was going to revive the stories of my incredibly great-grandfather, Jacque. Because the waters were unusually calm and we were drifting so slowly, I knew it would take at least a couple of hours before we would hit land. Since I had a somewhat decent amount of time on my hands, I went into the sleeper, removed my jacket and pants, and laid down in hopes for a quick nap before we reached solid ground.

Lost Image

Ooee

Blistering drums, masterful melodic interplay and a distinct smattering of brass — these are the defining qualities of Foxhole, a mostly instrumental post-rock group founded in Bowling Green, Ky., circa 2000. On their long-awaited third album, “Well Kept Thing”, Foxhole deliver a post-rock epic for the ages, working to cement their place in the pantheon of acts like Mogwai, Shipping News and Tortoise. Across 11 tracks, angular guitars interplay to create harmonic nuance while experimental horns coalesce with electronics into lush melodies, all driven by a rhythm section that builds foundational grooves out of polyrhythmic components. Mixed by Grammy-winner Stephen Roessner and mastered by Bob Weston (Shellac), the album was released digitally, on vinyl and CD in 2018 by Burnt Toast Vinyl.

Foxhole was formed while its members studied at Western Kentucky University. Their first full-length album, 2004’s “We the Wintering Tree,” was met with acclaim from post-rock and experimental publications as one of the best albums released that year. 2006’s “Push/Pull,” a five-track “short album” inspired by a friend’s death at sea, saw a tighter focus, with more emphasis on composition and a wider sonic range.

Foxhole is Derek Holt (bass), Greg Leppert (brass, keys, beeps), Adam Moore (guitars), Justin Shepherd (guitars) and Chris Vicari (drums). Past members include drummers Matthew Wilson and Jason Torrence, electronics guy Brian Toppenberg, and founding member Nathan McBroom.