Encyclopedia of Pop

Moxy Früvous

A cappella Toronto, Canada band Moxy Früvous initially made their name opening for the likes of Bob Dylan and Bryan Adams. The members had, allegedly, previously met on a school trip to a pig-calling contest. They did not win, but instead shared the prize for 'Most Promising Pig Caller'. Hence Mike Ford (guitar/percussion), Murray Foster (bass/guitar), Jean Ghomeshi (drums), and David Matheson (guitar/bass/accordion) formed a band, taken after the pigs' names: Moxy and Fruvous. They subsequently began to write and rehearse together at high school. However, one pair broke off to write three full-length musicals, while the others started a pop/funk combo called Tall New Buildings. The quartet regrouped while attending university in 1990 and began busking on the streets of Toronto. Their eclectic tastes saw them draw on rap, soca, folk and theatrical traditions. The single unifying factor was the band's distinctive four-part vocal harmonies. The irreverent and occasionally incisive lyrics offered an additional attraction, as on the single 'Stuck in the '90s', a grim take on counter-culture and the politics of protest. The band's debut album, Bargainville, was released in 1993, the songs conducted with the type of alternating restraint and fervor which recalled the passionate melodicism of the Proclaimers.

ALBUMS: Bargainville (three stars)