Modern things with woody values, fresh
from Bristol.

It’s been a good day for Bronze Age Fox frontman Dominic Jones. The band’s debut EP The Sunshine Made The Desert (about to be released on their own label, Bagatelle), has just been on Radio 1 for the first time. “I didn’t actually hear it,” he explains. “But I caught the tail end of Lamacq saying ‘that was Bronze Age Fox’, which was enough for me! To hear his dulcet tones saying our very name…” His West Country voice trails off in awe.

The four-piece formed seven years ago, having originally met at primary school in Hanham (where Dominic cryptically reveals, they “used to run around the school playground pretending to be wolves in speedboats”). Since then, they’ve contributed tracks to various indie compilations and recorded a remix of Wauvenfold’s JiGad using a wind-up seagull, a camel’s hoof and a clay head.

Although in some way inspired by early Massive Attack, Portishead and drum ‘n’ bass, Dominic admits BAF are not what you’d expect from a Bristol band. “We try to do modern things but with woody kinds of values – woody words and a woody spirit,” he says. It might sound like an ad for an Ikea wardrobe, but his description is spot on. BAF make dreamy tunes driven by sun-kissed guitar melodies that simmer with stuttering loops, warm samples and jagged programming. It’s a simple recipe for pop gorgeousness, softly seasoned with electronic wonder.

With songs as lovely as these, it won’t be long before Dominic can give up his intolerable office temp day job: “I’d really like to do this 100 per cent. Just wake up and walk through the park to the studio, whistling a merry tune as I go. And I’d like to see someone buying our record, that would be nice,” he says daydreaming. “But I might have to stand in a record shop for quite a while – days. I might need a birdwatcher’s tent disguised as the world music stand or something.” If there’s any justice in the world, BAF’s records will be flying off the shelves. Alexia Loundras 09 January 03

The Sunshine Made the Desert, released on Bagatelle, 20 January 03.

useful link: www.bronzeagefox.com