The full-length debut from The Foxies, Who Are You Now, Who Were You Then? is the sound of a band boldly embracing their wildest and most unpredictable impulses. In a thrilling new chapter for vocalist Julia Lauren Bullock, guitarist Jake Ohlbaum, and drummer Rob Bodley, the Nashville-based power trio expand on the dizzy abandon of their acclaimed 2020 EP Growing Up Is Dead, harnessing the explosive freedom of punk while endlessly turning out pop-perfect hooks. An up-close look at self-discovery in a chaotic world, Who Are You Now, Who Were You Then? ultimately matches its visceral impact with bluntly poetic yet heartfelt lyrics—the type of irreverent truth-telling sure to inspire countless tattoos and recklessly scrawled bedroom graffiti.

A decidedly DIY-minded band, The Foxies co-produced Who Are You Now, Who Were You Then? alongside a revolving lineup of collaborators in Los Angeles and Nashville, often laying down tracks in their own home studios. In bringing the album to life, the trio took a cue from pop iconoclasts like Prince and David Bowie and dreamed up a singular sound by alchemizing their eclectic mix of inspirations: new wave and glam-rock, post-punk and grunge, left-field hip-hop and the weirder edges of the pop world. But despite its rule-breaking originality, Who Are You Now, Who Were You Then? remains rooted in The Foxies’ timeless sense of songcraft—a crucial factor in their rare capacity to transform pain and frustration into songs that radiate an irrepressible joy. 

Lifted from one of its more heavy-hearted tracks (the gritty and introspective “Good Try”), the title to Who Are You Now, Who Were You Then? holds a number of meanings for The Foxies. “When we first started writing these songs at the beginning of the pandemic, there was a sense of trying to figure out myself and my love life and everything that was happening in a world that felt like it was crashing down,” says Bullock, the band’s main lyricist. “But then when you fast-forward to the newer songs there’s a complete shift in emotion, and a feeling of finding myself through learning about what love is not.” By the same token, the album’s title also reflects The Foxies’ newfound confidence in their identity as a band. “More than anything we’ve done in the past, this record taught us who we are,” says Ohlbaum, noting that the trio adopted a punk-inspired mindset in every step of the creative process. “To us punk is a way of life and a way of thinking and a way of making stuff,” he adds. “It’s about doing what feels right to you and makes you happy in the moment, and that’s something we definitely learned how to do with this album.” 

Not only a major force in shaping the unbridled sound of Who Are You Now, Who Were You Then?, a certain punk spirit shines through tracks like “If Life Were a Movie”—a brilliantly scathing breakup anthem built on frenzied beats and Bullock’s fantastically vicious lyrics (e.g., “If you’re a bird/Then I’m a loaded shotgun”). “We wrote that song when I’d just gotten back from Paris and had the most beautiful trip of my life,” she says. “I’m a hopeless romantic and the romance I had there got shot dead real fast, so I was feeling a little bitter. It turned into one of those happy-sounding songs that’s actually very sad—because the truth is life is not a movie, and I wasn’t doing okay.” A glorious piece of pop-punk, “I Don’t Wanna Want It” emerged from a melody that Ohlbaum conjured up while driving to a session, then morphed into a hot-tempered expression of self-destructive lust (“One kiss and I’m in a different time zone/Pull my hair like a bullet in a bible”). And on “Y2K,” The Foxies deliver a dance-worthy yet sardonic track showcasing the sheer power and range of Bullock’s crystalline voice. “That’s one of the songs where we ended up using the vocals from the demo—they were so spot-on from the beginning, and there was no reason to try to recreate them and possibly lose that emotion,” Bodley points out.

A particularly exhilarating moment on Who Are You Now, Who Were You Then?, “Headsweat” slips into a more euphoric mood as The Foxies delight in a highly specific form of desire. “I’d just finished working out and I was wearing a hat and my head was sweaty, and I showed up to the session and told the guys I wanted to write a sexual song about headsweat,” Bullock recalls. “We spun it into this very upbeat song about sexual tension, about wanting to be with someone that you know you can’t have.” With its pogo-ready rhythms and brain-bending vocal hook, “Headsweat” also catalyzed the band’s exploration of their more idiosyncratic sensibilities. “We ended up doing things we never would’ve done in the past, like put a toy piano on the track,” says Ohlbaum, who names Beck’s sublimely collagic mid/late-’90s output as an enduring inspiration for The Foxies. “Our whole attitude was, ‘It sounds goofy, it sounds fun, it sounds good—why don’t we just go for it?’”

Elsewhere on Who Are You Now, Who Were You Then?, The Foxies turn inward to uncover occasionally painful truths about coming of age. On “Good Try,” Bullock brings her fiercely self-aware storytelling to an intimate meditation on possibly toxic patterns of behavior. “I’ll go through phases of staying up late, hanging out with friends, drinking, but then after that little bender I’ll feel so drained,” she says. “That song is me questioning my choices but also saying, ‘Hey buddy, you done failed but tomorrow’s a new day—there’s always a chance to make it better.’” Meanwhile, on “Overrated,” The Foxies examine the emptiness of seeking viral fame, adorning the unstoppably urgent track with an exquisite gut-punch of a chorus. “It’s sort of a jab at myself and how I keep falling into the trap of wanting more attention and worrying about what people think,” says Bullock. “It’s about me whipping myself into shape and saying, ‘Girl, just stop thinking that way.’”

All throughout Who Are You Now, Who Were You Then?, The Foxies infuse their songs with equal parts raw emotion and a musical sophistication that comes from years of devotion to their craft. Born in Kentucky but raised in North Carolina, Bullock grew up watching her father play in bands and soon made her way into the local scene in Charlotte. “When I was 14 I started playing in a band with these 19-year-old dudes I found from a flyer at Guitar Center,” she says. “They were all like, ‘This is kind of weird, but you’re talented.’” Later on, Bullock chased her dreams to New York City and Phoenix and Nashville, where she eventually connected with Ohlbaum. A multi-instrumentalist, the Philadelphia native had taught himself guitar as a kid and spent much of high school and college playing in bands, an experience that sharpened his innate talents as a songwriter. “I moved to Nashville to write and produce but I also wanted to start a band, with the idea that I’d be the frontman,” he says. “But once I met Julia I realized, ‘No, she’s the frontman. This is the real deal right here.’” Within a year of kicking off their collaboration, the two crossed paths with Bodley, a New York native who got his start in pop-punk bands in high school and later played all over the U.S. as part of Warped Tour. “The thing that drew me to them was the songs, but also seeing Julia onstage and recognizing that she was just as passionate about music as I was,” says Bodley. “I knew this was a band that was going to work their asses off, and we do—we’re always working.”

Over the last few years, The Foxies have released a steady stream of EPs and standalone singles, in addition to bringing their high-energy live show to a 2021 tour with rock-and-roll legend Billy Idol. And with the arrival of their most dynamic body of work to date, all three members feel more driven than ever when it comes to fulfilling their mission as a band. “The thing that’s always bonded us is our passion for creating music that connects with people,” says Bullock. “With this album we hit every emotion: it’s got the deeper tracks that really hit you and give you chills, and then the songs you just want to scream at the top of your lungs when you’re driving down the PCH. I always want our music to give everyone that rush of emotion, but most of all I want people to feel seen and feel heard—I want them to feel like we’ve gone through all the same experiences that they’ve gone through, both good and bad, and to know that they’re not alone.”