Midwest gothic post-punk outfit The House Flies have reemerged from the shadows with their brand-new single Sweet Foxhound, released on September 16, 2025. It marks their first offering since 2024’s Mannequin Deposit, and it wastes no time pulling listeners back into the moody, restless world that the band has carefully built over the past few years. Combining brooding atmosphere with melodic drive, Sweet Foxhound is the sound of a band both refining and expanding their vision, offering a hint at darker territories to come.
From its opening bars, Sweet Foxhound sets a tone of uneasy urgency. Shadowy guitar textures swirl around a pulsing bassline, while a steady, insistent rhythm pushes the track forward like an unstoppable current. The vocals—haunting yet oddly tender—hover above the instrumental fog, carrying an emotional weight that is equal parts vulnerability and menace. It’s a song that lives in the tension between restraint and eruption, never fully breaking apart but always threatening to. This controlled intensity makes it hypnotic, a track that demands repeated listens to uncover all its layers.
One of the defining elements of Sweet Foxhound is the addition of second guitarist Burnie Eckardt, best known for his work with Dynoride. While Eckardt officially joined The House Flies just before the release of Mannequin Deposit, this is the first recording to capture his contributions in full. His guitar work doesn’t simply double existing parts; instead, it expands the sonic landscape, adding another dimension of texture and tension. With two guitars weaving in and out, the band’s sound grows more immersive and more threatening, balancing lush atmospherics with jagged edges.
The origins of the song stretch back further than its recording. Sweet Foxhound was initially written and tested live during the Mannequin Deposit sessions, quickly becoming a staple of the band’s shows. Over time, it evolved in performance, shaped by audience reaction and the group’s growing chemistry. By the time they committed it to record, the song had matured into something that bridged their past work with their future ambitions. This sense of continuity gives the single its strength—it feels both familiar and forward-looking, a natural evolution of their sound.
While the track stands firmly on its own, it also serves as a signpost for what’s coming next. The House Flies are currently deep into the process of crafting their next full-length album, which promises to be a heavier, darker, and longer exploration of the sonic and emotional territory they’ve already carved out. If Sweet Foxhound is any indication, the band is not retreating into comfort zones but pushing themselves into riskier, more expansive directions.
The House Flies’ story is still relatively young, but their progression has been deliberate and compelling. Formed in the Midwest, the band—Alex Riggen (guitar/vocals), Ozzie Woods (bass), Nick Pompou (drums), and now Eckardt on guitar—made their debut in 2023 with the Glimmer EP. That release sketched out the blueprint of their style: gothic atmosphere, post-punk grit, and melodies that were as haunting as they were addictive. The following year’s Mannequin Deposit expanded their palette, bringing in richer textures, bolder structures, and a wider critical audience. It was a record that cemented them as a band worth watching, one capable of pushing the Midwest underground sound into national relevance.
With Sweet Foxhound, The House Flies show that they’re not interested in merely repeating the formula. The single sharpens their edges and deepens their shadows, while still holding onto the melodic sensibility that sets them apart from other post-punk outfits. There’s a cinematic quality to the song, as though it were written to soundtrack the closing scene of a film noir set in an abandoned industrial city. Yet for all its gloom, it doesn’t collapse into despair; there’s a strange vitality pulsing through the track, as if the music itself is fighting to break free from its own weight.
In many ways, Sweet Foxhound captures what has always been compelling about The House Flies: their ability to turn unease into beauty, to take darkness and make it resonate as something more than just bleakness. Their music lingers, not because it shouts, but because it haunts. Like the animal in its title, Sweet Foxhound feels watchful, alert, and just out of reach, a presence that can’t be shaken once encountered.
As the band prepares for the next stage of their journey, this release feels like both a punctuation mark and a prelude. It closes the chapter of Mannequin Deposit while opening the door to something deeper and more ambitious. Fans of gothic rock, post-punk, and atmospheric alt-rock will find plenty to love here, but the track’s emotional honesty ensures it connects far beyond genre lines.
Sweet Foxhound isn’t just a return—it’s a statement. The House Flies have grown sharper, darker, and more determined, and they’re ready to take listeners further into their shadowy, melodic world. For those willing to follow, the journey promises to be as unsettling as it is unforgettable.
