Rock/Review The House Flies - Sweet Foxhound

Formed in the Midwest, The House Flies weave gothic atmosphere, post-punk textures, and a brooding melodic sensibility into their sound. Their debut, the Glimmer EP (2023), introduced their haunting style, followed by the full-length Mannequin Deposit (2024), which expanded their sonic palette and gained critical attention.

“Sweet Foxhound,” The House Flies' first single since 2024's “Mannequin Deposit,” solidifies their position as one of the most captivating gothic post-punk bands in the Midwest. “Sweet Foxhound” strikes a mix between its distinctive gloom and a driving drive that seems both urgent and dramatic, in contrast to their prior work, which mostly relied on mood and shadow.

Moody yet unrelentingly forward-moving, the tune is built on layers of brooding guitar, a pounding bassline, and hypnotic, almost incantatory vocals. It develops like a fever dream. Each component is given space to shine because to the arrangement's restraint: the bass offers a constant, heartbeat-like rhythm, the guitars produce a hazy curtain of sound, and the vocal delivery vacillates between closeness and detachment. The House Flies give it their own contemporary twist while capturing the spirit of gothic post-punk in this interplay, so it never feels cloned.

Remarkably, “Sweet Foxhound” was first recorded during the “Mannequin Deposit” sessions, but it has since been fully developed into a more immersive song with the band's larger lineup. It has a cinematic weight, as though it were composed for a nighttime chase sequence in a surrealist movie—tense, moody, and oddly seductive.

Though emotionally powerful and lyrically confusing, the song relies more on suggestion than on overt narrative, allowing listeners to inscribe their own meanings. It's a song worth listening to again and again because of its transparency and the band's meticulous craftsmanship.

In addition to bridging their previous and future work, The House Flies deliver a stand-alone statement of eerie power with “Sweet Foxhound.”