Feature: Bryce Fox

Words by Angelina Singer

With all the different eras and seasons of life, come new ideas, perceptions, and modes of thought. Bryce Fox’s five-song The Butterfly EP beautifully depicts life changes (like falling in love and becoming a father) and struggles (like drug addiction) with gorgeous musical dynamics that will give even the casual listener goosebumps. This EP was produced by David Pramik (who worked with mainstream artists like Selena Gomez and MGK), and I can definitely hear the sonic similarities between their music and this EP. But as Fox had tongue-in-cheek told me,

“David feels like he’s a part of my creative bones. We’ve been working on music well before he turned into a big shot working with those huge artists (97% sure). So I'd actually like to think my styles have in fact influenced their artistry more than vice versa. I’m boldly, and perhaps naively assuming David feels mutual about our creative give and take…”

His humility is so refreshing, even in the face of big success coming on the horizon. And Fox is no stranger to success — he’s got an RIAA gold certified record under his belt, in addition to millions of streams and radio plays on stations like KROQ and KRCW (just to name a few). But despite this, he still approaches music with so much sensitivity and honesty. My personal favorite on this EP is the title track “Butterfly” – a gorgeous ode to his experiences around becoming a father and the transformative quality of his music matching that change of energy. Bright guitar articulations and gritty distortion balance out the hopeful rallying cry of hope and motivation to build a life you’re proud of.

“The change [in my life] has been seismic! Before I had my son and got married my music was all about chasing women and heartbreak. Having a son particularly made me look at the world in a different light. More so out of protection for my family. I think ‘Butterfly’ is definitely the song that has been most infiltrated by fatherhood. The melody came to me in the car ride when we first brought Wilder home from delivery. The chorus took shape the more trips we took, after making several voice memos…”

From this point in the EP, things get a bit darker. As does life sometimes, gone are the energetic electric guitar riffs punctuated by encouraging lyrics like “flying on the wings of a butterfly / if you wanna love someone / fight for the dream to come alive / no matter where you get it from.” I absolutely love the way the chorus ramps up from the more minimalistic verses – but I digress. There’s still a journey ahead on this album – and “Butterfly” is only the first step.

Next up, I asked Fox about the inspiration behind his song “Other People” despite falling in love and how that came into play on the EP.

“Falling in love has been amazing and has also given me new ways to think about life situations differently. Other People is a song about heartbreak! It’s a reflection on the time I met my wife for the first time and we were falling in love, too soon, too fast and not quite at the right time.”

Yet another brutally honest track, “Other People” beautifully addresses the dumbfounded backwards moment where you might worry you’ve fallen for someone faster than you should have. Obviously, there’s no such thing as falling in love too fast – but it’s still a scary feeling if you’re not prepared for it. This song has a bright, poppy funk feel that doesn’t match the message at all, adding a nice tension in that sonic disparity. The swampy fuzzed-out electric guitar adds a nice texture that completes the track.

If falling in love is considered a vice, “Drip” addresses the problems and pitfalls of a drug addiction, and while the lyrics themselves are a bit vague (even I didn’t catch all the nuances at first) – that’s exactly what Fox intended with this song:

“Drip is a song about giving in to addiction. Having an addicting personality and battling with it. It’s a personal song for me. I intentionally wrote it to be a little abstract and general so people could connect on the feel more than the message.”

I appreciate the intention for him to keep the meaning of the song more vague – that will definitely help more people connect with it, and hopefully not feel so alone in their healing process. Probably the most angsty MGK-esque song on the EP, this one still has a great beat and a catchy melody that will keep you energized.

Fox also addressed the more spiritual realm of this EP – with songs like “Shadows” and “Sense of Humor”. With these songs, he’s addressing the sadness and regret of his own past, with brief allusions to faith-related motifs and the struggles around dealing with life when it doesn’t make sense. Particularly, with “Sense of Humor”, his music collides with this particular frustration in a super honest way:

“I wrote this song about my experience seeing my father go through dementia. It’s been such an awful and torturous time of my life. But intermittent with the unpleasantness are moments of almost comedy. Trying to understand God's plan feels as though it comes with a morbid sense of humor.”

While I certainly hope that things have since looked up in Fox’s spiritual life with a more positive perception of God, I completely understand the confusion around why bad things happen to people, seemingly on a random basis. But this EP is a great testament to healing and growth around even the most complicated hurts that life might throw at someone. In fact, Fox told me about how he even modeled the order of songs on the EP a certain way to depict those progressively darker themes:

“This EP was an attempt for me to really get a little more personal with my music. I feel like all my music is personal [of course], but this EP was a look into my family, personal life, and past. The order [of songs] was definitely intentional. I wanted to bring in the listener on a positive note, in hopes they were stoked enough to make it to the dark side.”

While the EP ends with the darker side of his experiences and music, there’s a certain level of camaraderie that springs forth from this dynamic journey from the pain of new eras and the subtle bit of hope that comes with it. I enjoyed this EP overall and am looking forward to what Fox brings to the table next. When I asked about what listeners can expect on the full album, he offered a sneak peak on the sonic style to be expected:

“There’s definitely some more energy and rock vibes! And perhaps some not-so-serious songs. Feels like a great way to counterbalance an album with some heavy subject matter.”

Based on this explanation, I can imagine that perhaps the rest of the album will bring more of the positive side to the soundscape, balancing out the first five songs of the experience.

Follow Bryce Fox on Spotify to keep tabs on his music, and stream The Butterfly EP for a sonic journey that will help you connect all the messy pieces of yourself, bit by bit, as you gear up for your next era – wherever life takes you.