Kim Fox
Moon Hut (Dreamworks)
by Marc Hirsh

originally published in Space City Rock, Spring 1999

Most albums, even good ones, are like cries for attention. This one seems more like a gift, from Fox, from Dreamworks, from the entire goddamn recording industry; the fact that an album like this even exists in today's musical climate is a triumph. Tempting though it is to try to lump Kim Fox into the confessional-female singer/songwriter category, it's too easy and really does miss the point entirely: these songs are about being a girl, not a woman. Fox writes songs that are structured like dreams and sound like childhood (even if "Daredevil," towards the end of the album, is the only one that makes this explicit), centering them around that most childlike of instruments, the piano. They're a perfect fit with her voice, full of wonder and petulance, wrapping around her words and melodies like a scarf.

And through the shimmering surface, Fox leads listeners to a soul of marvelous depth and complexity, if no less shimmering. The lack of adventure in the dark "Bleed A Little, Allison" floats into a lovely and playful paean to sticking one's foot in one's mouth ("Say Anything"), which leads to the effortless melody of "Sweetest Revenge," and so forth. Paul Mahern's exquisite pop production (listen to the lilting "I'm Discovered" and tell me that you can find one reason why it couldn't be a hit) and Fox's supporting band (one of the most sympathetic backups in recent memory) only serves to strengthen her convictions, which many solo artists seem to have forgotten is the point. And so, from the opening "I Wanna Be A Witch" to the cover of Bruce Springsteen's classic "Atlantic City," Fox maintains a sheen of youthful innocence (with all the exuberance, too) that seems to portray the exact moments that bits of childhood drop away forever.

Back to reviews