Paris Cox-Farr started Lofi Legs to showcase the songs he began writing when he was in college. After a few years of personnel shifts, it evolved into the current quartet—Cox-Farr on lead guitar and vocals; drummer Fabrizio Incerti, who also contributes computer effects; keyboard player Daniel Bromfield and bass player Strummer Millward. The expansive music on their recently released album, Leg Day, balances the freedom of a jam band with the focus of an indie-rock outfit. They showcase arrangements that are both spacious and focused, often veering off in unexpected directions.
“The songs on this album came out of taking a step back emotionally, and trying to deal with the harder things that were going on in my life,” Cox-Farr said. “I was ending a relationship when I was writing the songs. It was a rough breakup, so there are a lot of introspective moments. The first Lofi Legs album was like cheap canned beer, this one is a bottle of red wine: darker, with more layers of taste and meaning.”
Leg Day unfolds like a live set, slowly building up to the striking improvisations of “There’s A Place,” a tune driven by Fabrizo’s feverish drumming and the interlocking keyboard textures of Bromfield’s organ and piano, and “Seco,” a showcase for Cox-Farr’s ability to shift between soft strumming and screaming, distorted lead lines. “I Could Show You” opens with quiet chords from Cox-Farr’s electric guitar and a soft vocal, describing his daydreams about unattainable love. The band jumps in on the chorus with a fierce backbeat, supporting him as he cries out in anguish and lays down an impressive surf-influenced solo. The heartbeat of Millward’s bass and Bromfield’s chiming piano-fills compliment Cox-Farr’s high, keening vocals on “Screaming.” It’s a laid-back ballad, with vocals slowly building to the uncontrolled emotion suggested in the title.
It took Cox-Farr several years to find musicians who were compatible with his artistic vision. “The first version of the band only played one show before breaking up. That was in 2016. For a while, it was just me playing guitar and singing, sometimes with a loop pedal, sometimes with a drummer,” he said. “The next step was a trio, with random drummers and bass players. We put out several EPs and one album, Lamb. On one of our early tours, the bass player we had quit when we got to the venue. The only guy that came to see us that night was Daniel. There was a keyboard on stage. He stepped up and started adding explosions and other noises that integrated with what we were doing. He’s been in the band ever since.”
“Then, someone who liked the band told us about Strummer Millward, our bass player. She came to a rehearsal and learned all the bass parts from listening to the songs on an iPhone. She fit right in,” Cox-Farr continued. “Fabrizo has been a drummer on the local scene for as long as I can remember. I’ve known him since I was 15 or 16. When our last drummer quit, I asked him to join. We’ve been growing our sound in different directions ever since then. We’re basically an indie-rock band, but we’ve tried a lot of approaches over the past few years. We’re already thinking about the next record. It’s going to sound a lot different from what we’ve been doing, with more ideas from R&B and electronic music.”
Cox-Farr has always been creative, with an interest in filmmaking and music for as long as he can remember. “When they were younger, my mom and dad were both in bands, so they encouraged my interests in playing music,” he said. “Just before I started Lofi Legs, I was going to the San Francisco Art Institute to study painting, printmaking, drawing and cinematography. At night, I’d go out and see my friends playing in rock bands or making experimental noise. I thought it was cool. I started thinking music might be the best way to express my creative side and started the band. I was still in school, but I finally quit to do music full time.”
