Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters

Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters

Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters are an alternative rock group from Limerick City, Ireland, active since 2007. The band forms in late 2006 after years of touring in earlier projects, when the members decide to start a new group together and move away from their previous bands.

Line-up

The four-piece consists of Ronan Mitchell on vocals, guitar and keys, Morgan Nolan on guitar, vocals and keys, Shane Serrano on drums, vocals and clarinet, and Sean O’Mahony on bass and vocals.

Early releases and live activity

The band records eight tracks in Owen Lewis’s home studio and releases a self-titled debut EP in 2007 on their own label. They then tour across Ireland, playing headline and support dates with acts including Hayseed Dixie, Steriogram, Director, Giveamanakick, Ojos Rojos, Gang Green, David Geraghty, Concerto For Constantine, Walter Mitty & The Realists and Ham Sandwich. They also open for Against Me! on the Irish date of the New Wave album world tour.

A second EP, Congress of Oddities, follows in 2009. It includes songs ranging from anthemic rock and acoustic material to bluegrass country grunge, and its single Homeward Bound & Gagged reaches number three in the Irish download charts. The track is also named among Live 95FM’s best Irish singles of 2009.

Debut album

The band begins work on its first album in 2010 with Owen Lewis, whose production and recording credits include work with R.E.M., Flogging Molly, Hole, Snow Patrol and Paulo Nutini. The process takes several months and results in the 13-track album The Devil In Music, released in 2011. The first single, Thread The Needle, is built around the tritone, a musical interval also known as diabolus in musica, a phrase that gives the album its title.

Style and recognition

The group’s music blends punk rock roots, metal, traditional Irish music and other influences into a dark, varied rock sound. Their songs are described in the bio through titles such as Delorian Obsession, King Amongst Fools, Little Black Marble, Darker Shade Of Blue, Walking With The Dead, Care To Play?, Cornelius T. Ampersand and Firefly. They appear on Irish television programmes including RTÉ’s Dave Fanning’s The 11th Hour and Under Ether, and perform at Irish venues and festivals including HWCH 2010, Indie Week Ireland, Cold Pro Festival, Shamrock Festival, Knockanstockan, Indiependence and Music For The Mind Festival, as well as dates in London and Luxembourg.