After a decade on the road, Fox and Bones pause for a little existential sanity check: Are We Still Having Fun?. On the fifth album by the Portland, Oregon-based post-yacht rock duo, the answer is wrapped in ten songs that suggest the joy hasn’t gone anywhere. Their familiar blend of retro folk rock gets a fresh coat of modern indie poptimism, leading to a bigger and shinier sound without losing warmth in the rewarding melodies and characterful male-female vocals.

The lyrics revolve around trying to hold connection and a sense of purpose in an increasingly anxious and alienating world. There’s a recurring tension between the pressures of modern life on one hand, and the belief that love, friendship, creativity and hope can still pull us through on the other. The words from Echoes Of The Past in particular resonate: “When you really get down to it, ain’t we all just trying to leave something that lasts // Unless you’re living through it, all it is is just an echo of the past.”

Are We Still Having Fun?—performed by Sarah Vitort and Scott Gilmore, produced by Greg Holden—is out digitally, on CD and vinyl LP (self-released).

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