New Music: Ella Fox – King of Greed

Ella Fox’s debut single becomes all the more impressive when you discover that it was only the third song written with partner-in-crime, Joseph Hitchcock.

UK-based Australian Fox describes King of Greed as a “dissection of a natural psyche,” and particularly the male one! While that may make the song come across as heavy, it’s that in all the best ways. Tracing its roots back to 70s rock and the early days of power pop, it’s a great foil for Fox’s vocals. She too has a classic sensibility about her performing style, more in tune with a young Patti Smith or PJ Harvey, just the right fit for the acerbic, prose-like lyrics that read like a missive about one specific person but could be any one of us at one time of another.  

“It’s rock alternative, not alternative rock. Indie but with all the pop,” says Fox of King of Greed, and she’s right.

“We were having trouble finishing a bunch of songs,” says Hitchcock of lo-fi rockers Paper Anthem, talking about how the song came to be. “I was fucking around on the guitar when Ella spun around and went, ‘Wow! That sounds like Led Zeppelin’, and the lyrics sort of came to her straight away, as they usually do. Next thing I know, I’ve gotten to play practically every instrument on the track.”

King of Greed is out now on London-based label Sophrosyne; it’s streaming on Spotify and SoundCloud, as well as Bandcamp. To be the first to know about all things Ella Fox, follow her on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.