Able Baker Fox Hear Voices

"I honestly feel like this is more of a return to the kind of music that our bands got known for in the first place,” says Ben Reed, bassist and vocalist for Able Baker Fox. For Reed and his band-mates, which include brother Mike, Jeff Gensterblum, and Nathan Ellis, this is something of a weighty statement; Ellis was the front-man of the Casket Lottery and bassist for Coalesce, while the remaining three formed the backbone of Small Brown Bike, one of the most influential post-hardcore bands of the ’90s. Their former projects dissolved, all four members now reside in different cities, a factor that played a crucial role in Able Baker Fox’s formation.

"We each wrote songs and would share them online,” explains Reed. "Ideas for a verse or a chorus. You would hear it one way in your head, and then someone else would get it, and put something on it that would change it entirely.” After swapping files online, the band met up for the first time in Chicago for a marathon practice session. "It was funny to come together for the first time and play these songs we’d never played together but we could all play them from start to finish,” says Reed.

The band took the Chicago demos home with them to complete. "It was pretty fun, because everything got mixed up,” says Reed. "I wrote the lyrics and vocals for two songs that I didn’t write the music for.” With songs now complete, the band trekked down to Kansas to track what would become their debut, Voices.

The result is a remarkably cohesive and powerful record that contains all the genuine intensity of its members past work. "I play in another band, and we practice once a week, so I get my fix of playing music,” says Reed. "It’s fun to just sit at home in your own space and write songs like this.”

Click here to read the full interview with Able Baker Fox's Ben Reed.