Raw, vulnerable, and stripped-down, Stonefox’s “Time” acoustic video invites us to dwell in a moment of hopelessness and hurt, fracture and fragility.
Stream: “Time” – Stonefox
Oh love, are we just fighting time with energy?
There are numerous ways to create intimacy through music, and Stonefox know them all very well. The Melbourne indie pop trio have been creating safe spaces full of sonic and emotional depth for years now, and their latest release is only the icing on the cake: Raw, vulnerable, and stripped-down, Stonefox’s “Time” acoustic video invites us to dwell in a moment of hopelessness and hurt, fracture and fragility.
Trade my heart for silence
Give it up for a moment
Falling over diamonds
The lights, they come alive at night
But we couldn’t hold them
In the morning
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering the acoustic video for Stonefox’s new song “Time,” originally released April 9 via Seeking Blue Records. The latest single off the band’s forthcoming EP (due to release in early August), “Time” finds the Australian indie band in a particularly contemplative headspace – waxing philosophical over purpose, place, and meaning, the group wonder aloud in a sea of “what it’s all about” and “why we’re here“. They’re classic questions, for which there are no answers; and yet, these topics never go stale.
Nuance and poignance have long been a part of Stonefox’s ethos: Their very first single, 2014’s “All I Want,” introduced Jenna Russo, Monica Spasaro, and Tim Carroll as a minimalist, introspective musical project along the same vein as The xx and Daughter. In reviewing their song “Dreamstate” back in 2017, Atwood Magazine‘s Hannah Maire wrote, “there is a quietly confident aura about this trio,” going on to praise “their ability to create a delicately woven array of sounds with a scrumptious texture that leaves you yearning for more.” Six years after their debut, Stonefox retain that intimate composure and minimalist edge that makes so much of their earlier work as compelling as they are engulfed in feeling.
“Time” is, in all respects, a quintessential Stonefox song. “’Time’ is about looking at a difficult time in your life from an outside perspective,” Stonefox’s lead singer Jenna Russo tells Atwood Magazine. “It describes the second stage of being hurt, feeling hopeless and defeated. One of the more philosophical moments on the record, it’s about feeling so low that everything you do in life seems like wasted time. Like looking at the night sky and feeling insignificant in the scale of it all. It’s about realising that everyday life can be exhausting and wanting to have someone alongside you to go through the motions with.”
The “Time” acoustic video marks a special moment for the band, as it is drummer Monica Spasaro’s first time on lead vocals. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a little while now but the right moment hadn’t really ever presented itself,” Spasaro explains. “When we had the idea to make the acoustic video we were all sitting around our home studio deciding the best way to pull it off, and there was this moment we all looked at each other, a little smirk on Tim and Jenna’s face. If I was ever going to try my hand in backing vocals this was it. It was nice that there wasn’t ever any pressure, Tim and Jen gave me lots of great pointers and were always encouraging about it all, and practising and singing 3 part harmony’s with them just seemed to work.”
All of that hard work paid off for Spasaro and her bandmates, as she so beautifully wraps listeners in waves of haunting emotion. Stonefox tap into a moment of a raw clarity in their chorus, as Spasaro bears her soul:
Oh love, are we
Just fighting time with energy?
Oh love, are we
Just fighting time with energy?
Shot at Princes Pier in Port Melbourne by Dan Parish (The Hybrid Minds), Stonefox’s acoustic performance is truly a knockout. Stonefox have completely transformed their song without tampering with its core – it’s as pained and aching as its more dressed-up, electric alternate.
“The song is all about looking at the bigger picture and coming at things from an outside perspective during difficult moments. We wanted the setting to be vast, moody and capture the message behind the song,” Russo says of the video concept. “As songwriters we draw a lot of inspiration from the ocean and there are a lot of references to it throughout the EP.”
Find a pulse, we’re human
Face the waves as they fall in
As they fall in
The lights, they come alive at night
But we couldn’t hold them
In the morning
Lead guitarist Tim Carroll shares more of the recording and production experience: “You wouldn’t believe the fun and games we had trying to get this one in the can – there was a lot of hilarious moments, and almost nothing went to plan. We all got up at 5:30am to get to the location, setup and shoot with the sunrise (videographer, assistants, sound tech and band) and it was the cloudiest Melbourne morning you’ve ever seen – not a ray of sunshine in sight! Then once we’d finally setup and tried to record and every time we’d go for a take, a news helicopter doing the morning traffic report kept swooping in overhead or alarms from the nearby cray fisherman kept going off. It was like something from a sitcom!”
He continues, “But all these hiccups had us laughing the whole way through and with a little persistence we were able to find a quiet corner on the pier and snap a real moody vid that we’re all really proud of – plus a couple of ambient seagull squawks in the background. We decided to leave the chatter and sigh of relief at the end in, where we’re all like THAT WAS THE ONE!”
Watching Stonefox perform is to experience three best friends do what they love doing most. Watching them perform at an empty pier, in front of serene blue waters is simply stunning: We feel both that sheer weight of wonder that inspired “Time,” as well as the utter beauty of our world. These forces collide and combine, making for an enchanting, hypnotizing performance you’ll want to watch and feel on repeat. Stream Stonefox’s “Time” acoustic video exclusively on Atwood Magazine!
Stonefox’s sophomore EP As You Fall will be out later this summer.
A place
To breathe
Oh I don’t mind
If you’re with me
Oh love
Are we
Just fighting time
With energy
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Stream: “Time” – Stonefox
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