Hardy Fox — 25 Minus Minutes

Hardy Fox was one of the truly unsung, and largely unknown key figures with-in  wider experimental music, and more than a few of its sub-genres. For most of his forty plus year career he remained hidden, under an eyeball ‘n’ top hat( and other disguises) as one of the key songwriters in The Residents. He left the project in 2015 due to ill health, going onto release eighteen solo albums under the pseudonym of Charles Bobuck…then in 2018, he put out his first self titled album, and revealed his many years of work for The Residents. Sadly, in October of last year Hardy passed away from brain cancer- 25 Minus Minutes is the final recordings he made just before his passing…and it’s a release that is both poignant, yet devilishly creative- highlighting his talent, and the great hole his passing has left.

This release appears on Austrian label Klanggalerie, who has released all of the Charles Bobuck albums, and his final few solo albums. The release is presented in the form of a glossy digipak- on its cover is a picture of the young fox superimposed over a bridge structure. Inside we get a picture of Mr. Fox smiling in his later years, and his birth & death date. The CD it's self features a brain scan- so a low-key, though arty bit  of packaging.

The release takes in a single just under twenty-five-minute track- and this has a very tardis like quality to it, as Fox seemingly managers to stretch-out time (in a good way), bringing together some truly fascinating/ creative song sketches & sound elements.  So while the track is far from a loose jam, wondering improv, or random sound-making, there is a very episodic/ drifting quality to the whole thing. I’d say think a more manic & deranged take on early Van Dyke Parks , and you’ll get a rough idea of what we have here.

I won’t go on to do a minute-by-minute review or break down of the track, but instead, I’ll mention a few of the standout moments that appear along the way- through that said it’s all pretty damn great. The track begins with an oddly drowsy blend of stabbing & wavering electronica- over the top we get a blend of two layers of  Mr. Fox’s voice- first there’s his spoken word elements, and the second this sort of gone wrong stage-show sing-song voice, and fairly soon the pair start angering- with the spoken word Fox saying ‘I think you should go & Fuck yourself’, as this section ends. At around the three minute & forty minutes we get jumps between downbeat marching piano & skittering electro-jazz with tribal beats - to start with the piano moments come off like mournful singer-songwriter fare with Fox mumbling about cancer in his head, then later shifts to a grim plod.  Around the ten & a half minute, we move into a bright & buoyant techno jaunt- which sudden shifts from one note piano wonky-ness, before moving into a wavering & sing song avant synth-pop song with the chorus finding Fox singing ‘we all like ugly’. By the fifteen & a half minute mark we get the tolling & wondering bleak blues guitar with Fox weedy voice underneath saying ‘it took me many years of playing the guitar to realize I was a shitty guitar player’.  In the tracks final moments, we move between sassy piano & synth horn work-out, and a rising-to- dramatic blend of galloping synthic cinematic orchestration with Fox loosely wavering/ mumbling over the top.

25 Minus Minutes is a daring & wholly creative release, that constantly tales risks and mostly pulls them off. It stands as a great final statement from one of the most versatile, daring & distinctive songwriters of our time- goodbye Mr. Fox you will be very much missed, and thank you for all the odd wonder & sonic surprises you created over your forty plus year career