On their fourth album, Balance, Boston’s Pet Fox take a hefty and defined leap forward, presenting a deeply personal and sonically expansive new album that marks a significant evolution for the band.
Recorded over the course of seven days at Asheville's renowned Drop of Sun Studios, the band worked with producer Alex Farrar (Wednesday, MJ Lenderman, Squirrel Flower) to capture the core of their sound at its most confident, pairing the intricate and melodic songwriting that has underpinned so much of their work to-date with an organic, live-band energy that bristles with tension.
Citing artists such as Pinback, Autolux, and Alex G as inspirations on their sound, Pet Fox has long occupied a distinctive corner of indie rock, blending textured guitars, understated hooks and emotional nuance. Balance certainly covers similar ground, building on that foundation while opening a new creative chapter, one that offers up the band's first fully studio-produced album after years of largely self-producing.
The songs themselves were written and demoed between Autumn 2023 and the Spring 2024 in the band's Boston rehearsal space before recording began in January 2025. Inspired by the clarity and warmth of recent records emerging from Drop of Sun Studios, the band made the decision to work with Farrar, and it was a collaboration that proved to be wholly transformative.
Where previous records were shaped largely from within the band, Farrar brought an outside perspective that enhanced the band’s identity and personality. Recording primarily live together in the studio allowed the performances to retain the spontaneity that has underlined so much of their work to-date, while carefully considered overdubs added depth without sacrificing the sense of immediacy that’s been so vital in their work. The result is an album that sounds expansive and urgent without ever feeling overworked, a vibe the band were striving for after hearing the Truth Club’s Farrar-produced record Running From The Chase.
At the heart of Balance lies its title. Exploring the challenge of learning to care for yourself without losing sight of the people around you, Balance can be seen as something of a meditation on overcoming people-pleasing tendencies, and the constant pressure to meet outside expectations. Rather than presenting easy answers, the songs here embrace the messy process of seeking equilibrium, making the album's emotional core something deeply personal but also quietly universal.
This ever-shifting journey is reflected throughout the songwriting itself. Tracks such as "Moving Along," and the more concise "Leveled Out," arrived almost effortlessly, while others demanded months of refinement. "My Only Virtue" evolved through countless subtle revisions, with tiny rhythmic changes and structural shifts gradually shaping its final form, while "For Sale" sat unfinished for an extended period before a long-forgotten voice memo unexpectedly unlocked the missing piece.
Among the band's own highlights are "I'll Wait," which emerged from one of the final writing sessions after months of uncertainty, and "Avoidant," a song whose effortless chemistry captures the interplay that defines the record. Such chemistry stems from relationships that, at this point, span decades. Vocalist and guitarist Theo Hartlett and bassist Morgan Luzzi have played music together since childhood, after first meeting on a youth soccer team, while drummer Jesse Weiss joined through Boston's vibrant independent music community following years of friendship and shared bills. It’s a connection that gives Balance an unmistakable sense of cohesion.
While the album feels rooted in the Boston they call home, where much of their new work was written, the songs here reflect broader emotional landscapes. Heavy New England winters, periods of isolation, and the annual optimism that accompanies spring quietly shape the atmosphere surrounding the songs, lending the work a sense of seasonal movement and emotional renewal; a spirit that pours out from the heart of the songs.
It’s a palpable feeling, and one that bursts into life immediately, the title-track that opens the album surging out of the traps with a restless sense of purpose and energy. “The idea behind this song is impulsivity caused by anxiety and/or frustration,”the band say of the track. “Being able to think things through before acting on something is important, and fighting the balance of impulsivity versus indecision is always a struggle.”
Elsewhere, "Leveled Out" offers something less frenetic but equally imposing, the track’s murkier, far more strung out atmosphere mirroring the songs more personal and complicated themes. Then there’s "Moving Along," the album’s breeziest number, a “simple love song” that marries playful percussion with an earnestness that resonates as much as the album’s darker themes. “It’s very middle school but this song is about having a crush and then realizing that they are into you too,” the band says. “For some reason, knowing the feeling is mutual makes the nerves even more intense.”
There’s something in that notion that ripples throughout the entire album. Balance isn't necessarily an album about dramatic reinvention or grand artistic statements. It's about gradual change, stronger friendships, trusting your instincts and accepting that growth rarely happens all at once. The light and shade might shift from song to song, but the heart of it all never does. Balance doesn't abandon what made the band so compelling in the first place, instead it refines and deepens it, presenting everything with a newfound clarity that feels wholly compelling.
bio: Tom Johnson
photo: Jonathan Zonenshine
