FOREIGNFOX defy. They are not a band that follow the well-trodden path. They have gotten to where they are now by eschewing the ordinances of an exploitative industry – one geared toward the simple, the mundane and that which is commercial. With such pillars set down as the norm… Foreignfox defy.

However, the Fife quartet are not simply contrarian. They endeavour only to scratch their own artistic itch. Creativity with an agenda, harnessing that quiet intensity that stands them apart from so many others. And when the signals around are pressing down on them to roll out quick-fire radio-friendly choruses, their approach is unaltered.

And if prompted to take a more commercial approach, the response is typically… defiant. And if being uncompromising with their work is what has brought us the likes of The Long Jump EP, then it would be folly in the extreme to compel them otherwise.

"I think we think of it as going back to more like classical music," Jonny Watt, the band's singer muses. "Back when you'd have these long overtures and you would get hints of the 'hooks' or what the chorus would be, but you don't get it all together until the end.

"So, you are rewarded for listening, but at the same time it means we don't have as many people listening at the point it all comes together. A double-edged sword.

"When we were recording the last EP, we had a song called [I Used to Be a] Bellydancer, that was an eight-minute song. We took it to the studio and were talking to our producer, Bruce, and he was asking if we were sure we didn't want to save this for an album? We were of the mind: 'Ach, doesn't matter, does it? Whoever likes it will like it'.

"But that seems to be one of the songs that gets the best reaction live and still a lot of love online. Don't regret the decision.

"We've been asked to do songs that are just choruses. But for us, as a band, we'll always strive to do something just that bit more interesting – for ourselves, for our own sanity, basically."

As is a common theme among bands right now, 2022 has to be a massive year. Artists all across the country are making up for all the time lost and are feeling much more emboldened when planning ahead. It's all about perspective, and if the pandemic has any legacy for bands then it's a message of: 'Do what you want to now, because you never know when you might lose that chance'.

Before the year of the year, we WILL have a debut Foreignfox album. No more EPs, but the full experience. The band are into their eighth year and are becoming increasingly aware of that well-worn phrase: 'Now or never'.

"I think an album is something we will be able to do this year," Watt says. "We just need to get some studio time, finish off a few tracks. We'll probably aim for the last quarter of this year, maybe. It feels like something that we HAVE to do.

"It's something that's been flirted with for a while. We planned to flesh out the EP we just released, but came to the decision that we wanted to just have songs on it that really fitted together. And for the album we want to expand and really make sure it works together.

"One thing we are pernickety about, especially for an EP or an album, is that it needs to flow. You need to be able to listen to it in one sitting and not want to skip a track. We want each part to tell a story that leads into the next thing. And, yeah, hopefully there are a few choruses in there somewhere, so we can release a few singles – otherwise no one is going to know about the album when it comes around."

In recent years, albums have become more of a collection of singles than a full body of work – something that tends to irk Watt and his bandmates.

"Albums have to be albums," the frontman insists. "What's let me down a bit is hearing a band and thinking their singles are really great songs but then you hear the album and it's just not thought out, it's maybe songs they've maybe had lying around or some B-sides.

"I love bands like Manchester Orchestra or, going further back There Will be Fireworks, they release real albums. You're going to listen to these things in full while on a drive up north or something. The tracks might bump up or down from one another but their all connected.

"On the other hand, there's nothing worse when you're listening to a single on an album from one artist and the next song comes on and it sounds like a totally different artist."

For those who cannot wait until the end of 2022 for some new Foreignfox material…Light. End. Tunnel.

Watt explains: "We will have another release coming out soon. A single and a B-side, maybe. Something that will, hopefully, whet the appetite for more to come down the line.

"I think it's a track that will find its way onto the future album. It's not something that you would say is a traditional single, it's a little bit softer and waltz-like. It'll be a bit of a palette cleanser, after The Long Jump EP.

"I'd say it'll be out around the start of April, or thereabouts."

Before then the band will head to Bathgate for an intimate show at The Midnight Breakfast Club on Saturday, March 5, with support from fellow Fife band Sunstinger and Linburn.

They will also be part of the Tiny Changes Weekender in their native Dunfermline when they play the Saturday, April 15.

Further tour dates are, of course, on the cards as well, though it is likely they will again be taking a different course of action.

The singer continues: "Now that restrictions have come away, and look like they'll stay away, it's the first time we can properly plan ahead. I mean, in 2021, we played three shows and two of them were planned since March 2020.

"We are hoping to get up around the Highlands and Islands, down the Borders and type of places we haven't been too much before. We've played a lot in Glasgow, Edinburgh and, obviously, Dunfermline.

"We've wanted to get up north ever since seeing the Frightened Rabbit film where they went and toured the Highlands, playing all those old man pubs, all crushed in, still loud and still going for it.

"It's a bit more special to do shows like that sometimes – these are people that don't get to see too many gigs in their own area. If it's good, they'll all go. The village will go along. There's always a cool party atmosphere up there."

Tickets for the Midnight Breakfast Club show are available online now.