Like many punk acts of the last ten years, Fox Trotsky has an interesting musical style and is strong on their social commentary base, but seems like they're still developing both.

Fueling an old school Suicide Machines feel with a crackrocksteady approach (minus the overbearing Satanism), FT is heavy on the hyper-tempo ska upstrokes and rambled vocals. These vocals, however, are sub par at best. Often out of tune and off key, they could definitely use some smoothing out, but how to do it without overusing studio wizardry is going to call for a smart producing / mixing job on the next release. The backup screaming growls balance the overall vocal front well though, and to give them credit, this is only a demo EP, and it's chock full of catchy goodness.

"There Will Never Be Peace" should have you singing along by the second listen, even if its ideas are explained a little vague, especially at one point where the band picks out seemingly random events to elaborate on the title. The song "Apnea" definitely mixes a more emotional side of the band while still keeping the tempo intact and the political undertones shining through the surface, with its own hook line of "why did you have to go away on a day like today?"

While Take Back the Streets is nothing special, the window into the future it provides is. If Fox Trotsky smartens and organizes their ideas and smoothes out the sound, it's possible we have the next Suicide Machines on our hands (although likely without a power-pop / skate punk era).

MP3s / STREAM
Guilt Trip / There Will Never Be Peace