PRESS
BIO
The Hollywood Hills-born daughter of a horror filmmaker and sister of a cult comedian, Foxtails front-girl Laura Weinbach grew up in a household that embraced eccentricity. Her next-door neighbors were circus contortionists with emus and fang-toothed monkeys as pets and her childhood activities included snail hunting and spying on celebrity neighbors like Slash, Ice-T, and Larry from Perfect Strangers. Laura’s upbringing is present everywhere in Foxtails Brigade, from the lyrical imagery to the hand-drawn artwork and sophomoric Instagram cartoons.
The band’s live show is a clockwork of junkyard beats, warped orchestral sonics, and Laura’s trademark voice and classical guitar intricacies with an A-List ensemble featuring performing members of Bright Eyes, Van Dyke Parks, and John Kale. The songs tackle subjects of substitute teaching in the Oakland and LA public school scenes, steak appreciation, and general unfairness awareness with a warped pop sensibility akin to influences like St. Vincent, Joanna Newsom, The Smiths, and Pink Floyd.
Following their 2011 debut album The Bread and the Bait (Antenna Farm Records), the band released their second LP. Time Is Passed (DIY) during Christmas of 2012. The band put out their self-titled LP in April 2016 on OIM Records produced by Jeff Saltzman (Blondie, The Killers). Foxtails Brigade is also out now in Japan on Rallye Records.
In the wake of their 2016 STLP release, the band completed a PCNW, So-Cal and South/Mid-West U.S. run as well as a spring tour in France opening for Emily Jane White. Following that they embarked on a 3-month East Coast and Europe tour opening for and playing in Emily Jane White's band again.
In 2020-21 after a one-off release at the end of 2019 for their single “On The Other Side” and a well-received music video for their dark fairy-tale version of “My Favorite Things”cover , the band put out a series of monthly single releases including “Gimme A Sign”, “Slave” and more.
Like the rest of the world, the band’s live show lay dormant throughout the pandemic until their first in-person SF performance in March 2023. The band is currently working on a new record, and more touring to come.
PRESS CLIPPINGS
"['We Are Not Ourselves' is] modern day Grimms' fairytale of a doppelganger's ability to dupe even those closest to you, complementing the song's orchestral pop peppered with flashes of yelping and chaos." -Billboard
“With their fusion of baroque pop, eclectic rock, and hints of classical flourishes, San Francisco pop-rockers Foxtails Brigade are making us very happy.” - Baeble
"sweetly serenades you to your doom." -Paste
"defies easy categorization." -Relix
"[Foxtails Brigade] really doesn't sound like anyone or anything else."- SF Weekly
"stunning" -PopMatters
"Bay Area orchestral indie-pop quintet Foxtails Brigade drops decadent music video. Complimented by a lavish single-take, “Far Away and Long Ago” excels as an avant-pop masterpiece." -The Vinyl District
"[the new self-titled record] anthems for underdogs... the most focused and finely-tuned Foxtails Brigade album to date." -The Bandcamp Blog
"'I'm Not Really In The Christmas Mood' is a nice counterpoint to all the upbeat holiday tunes that deluge us this time of year." -Bitch Media
“['Far Away and Long Ago'] is, if I just were to put it frankly, an utter masterpiece. Laura Weinbach and company have created a song that deserves more popularity and attention than anything you’ll currently find by scrolling around your radio dial. - Round Table Music Reviews
"fresh, quirky, adventurous and extremely pleasing," - Beehive Candy
"With a sound that is truly unique, Bay Area-based orchestral indie-pop group Foxtails Brigade are gearing up to make big waves in 2016. "
-Groundsounds
"the music [has] a timeless feel, but Foxtails Brigade experiments with modern compositions, keeping the music firmly grounded in the present.” - SF Chronicle
"[Foxtails Brigade's 'Book Of Right On' is] an enthralling re-working, the arrangement is entirely new but the essence of the original still shines through. -Clash Magazine
“a gorgeous storybook approach to orchestral indie pop" -Indie Shuffle
"Foxtails Brigade make a peculiar brand of Gothic folk-pop which embraces the weirder side of life." -Wake The Deaf
“Quality musicians led by a good songwriter with a great voice, Foxtails Brigade seem to have the whole package .” -In Your Speakers
"Foxtails Brigade is what would happen if Wolfgang Mozart were alive and writing pop music today. Refreshingly beautiful." -Audio Fuzz
"they have an uncanny ability to make creepy sound beautiful" -SF Critic
"Dynamic multi-talented group" -The Deli
5 Practical DIY Film Tips For Musicians
-Anton Patzner for Performer Magazine
“as soon as Laura Weinbach starts to play, everyone within earshot immediately revises their previous opinions of her, from tiny cutie to big roaring genius.”
– SF Weekly
"Patzner and Weinbach found a way to take what’s arguably a chamber music form and make it palatable for nightclub audiences." - East Bay Express
"Laura Weinbach of Foxtails Brigade has a voice like the sirens of Homer’s Odyssey. It draws you in with its sheer beauty and takes you places where you teeter on the edge of bliss and terror. Foxtails Brigade’s debut album, The Bread And The Bait, is chock full of dreamy chamber-pop with a sharp edge."
– Best New Bands
“[Laura Weinbach's] charm is not nearly as impenetrable as her cosmic poetry or, for that matter, the band’s baroque-like music. Stay tuned for more from this very special group. – Kata Rokkar
“We all know the dream world that Foxtails Brigade strolls through; that intimacy is what makes this one so memorable.” –Music Emissions
“[Weinbach] looks like a character plucked from a Lewis Carroll tale, and yet beneath that surface, she’s fierce. The tracks on [Foxtails Brigade's] new album sound a bit like old Victorian song cycles. But they’re refreshing.” -East Bay Express
"By turns moody, pastoral and even occasionally frightening, The Bread And The Bait takes the simplicity of its construction and makes the most of it."
-Spectrum Culture
“Weinbach decorates The Bread and the Bait with ditties at once fanciful and childlike, but it’s her propensity for sudden tantrums of discordance that prevents her songs from sounding precious. It may be an acquired taste, but then again, isn’t that true for the better things in life? - Exclaim
“music that doesn’t sound like very much else out there these days. A fascinating album." -Popmatters
“sweet and powerful"
– SF Weekly
“a simply stunning album.”
– Jersey Beat
"offers something new and exciting to the listener privileged enough to hear it."
– Chart
“Weinbach has a killer voice!”
-Woman’s Radio
*Full press archive available upon request
PRESS PHOTOS
