Episode 35: Andrew Cox – The Fauves

If you were to ask me my opinion on the greatest Australian bands of all time, The Fauves would be found pretty close to the pointy end of things.  I’m sure I’m not alone in that assertion either, after all, they’ve been around for 36 years now, constantly and consistently performing as one of the country’s most underrated and underappreciated groups. You won’t be finding them performing headline dates in arenas, and you won’t often find their albums on the ARIA charts, but their songwriting is impeccable, their hooks unmatchable, their live shows astounding, and their self-aware humour is as self-deprecating as it comes. For casual fans, The Fauves are probably best known for songs like ‘Dogs Are The Best People’ and ‘Self Abuser’ from their 1996 album ‘Future Spa’, which was nominated for Best Adult Alternative Album at the ARIA Awards in 1997. For fans, their back catalogue is a rich one full of 13 albums, EPs, singles, and B-sides that are better than most band’s hits.  For me, The Fauves are a band I could talk about for hours and never even begin to scratch the surface of what makes them one of the greatest Australian bands of all time. Luckily, this week I was able to talk to someone else who knows The Fauves quite well; guitarist and vocalist Andrew Cox.  Why was I talking to Coxy? Well, The Fauves are currently on the road with Custard in support of their latest album, ‘Tropical Strength’, which arrived earlier this month. It’s a stellar record full of the classic Fauves songwriting and musicianship which makes you evoke lyrics from one of their earlier tracks as you say, “crank it up, I really like this bit; fuck that riff sounds really sick”. Anyway, I strongly urge you to check out The Fauves’ ‘Tropical Strength’ while you’re reading through old copies of their ‘Shred’ magazine, grab a ticket to see them live, and once you’re done giving that a spin, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.