Bill Fox — he of Cleveland’s The Mice, subject of Joe Hagan’s 2007 legend-establishing piece in The Believer and an Overlooked in Ohio alum — hasn’t released any new music since his two decade-old solo albums, Transit Byzantium and Shelter from the Smoke (the latter of which was reissued on vinyl in 2009 by Robert Griffin‘s Scat Records.) Nor has Fox granted an interview in years.

So I didn’t expect much more than a polite decline when I contacted Fox about his upcoming Columbus show on Saturday (details below). To my surprise, he emailed responses to some questions and revealed a new album coming in January:

As far as new material is concerned, there will indeed be an album released in January. The record is titled One Thought Revealed and will appear on Jar Note Records, a label which is being created by [friend and manager] Tim Rossiter. The CD was recorded autumn 2009 into last year with a couple of tracks written right around that time, a couple others around the millennium’s turn and several more 2006/2007, to the best of my recollect.

Read the full interview over at The Other Paper, where Fox also talks about Nada Surf’s cover of “Electrocution” and his song “Men Who are Guilty of Crimes,” which soundtracks a recent Occupy Wall Street video by ex-Clevelander Michael Nigro.

Bill Fox will play Cafe Bourbon St. (2216 Summit St.) Saturday (11/5) alongside acoustic sets from Jim McKeivier and Marcy Mays (Scrawl). Doors at 9 p.m. Cover: $6.

MP3: Bill Fox – Electrocution

Yep, that’s two Columbus Bill Fox shows in two months. If you missed the last one at Lost Weekend Records, you’ve got a chance at redemption Saturday night at the Treehouse (10pm, $5). He’ll be accompanied by Esther Caulfield Orchestra and Pale Rider aka Moviola’s Jerry Dannemiller, who described Fox in this way for our first Overlooked in Ohio feature:

The legend of reclusive Cleveland folkie Bill Fox luckily hasn’t quite eclipsed that of his music, first with The Mice (who GBV learned a move or two from), and later with his never-get-old solo records. A Believer piece contributed to the legend in 2007, and maybe as a result, he played his first hometown shows earlier this year after a decade of hiding under a rock. A Columbus show (one can dream) would likely be inhabited by a paltry crowd: some New Bomb Turks, Bela, Moviola, and a few other knowing stragglers, but would be great to see him on a stage again.

With the Shelter from the Smoke reissue, a resurgence of live performances and a Nada Surf cover of that MP3 up there (off the 1998 Anyway Records comp I Stayed Up All Night Listening to Records), 2010 is starting to feel like the year of the Fox.

Covers album if i had a hi-fi is out June 8.

MP3: Nada Surf – Electrocution (Bill Fox cover)

Donewaiting has been a big fan of Nada Surf since forever, and our recent obsession with Cleveland’s Bill Fox pretty much makes this track required posting. It’s off Nada Surf’s upcoming covers album, if i had a hi-fi, which will only be available at shows for a while, then released officially on June 8 via Mardev Records (the band’s own label). The trio chose songs by Depeche Mode, The Moody Blues, Arthur Russell, Spoon… a real mix. Looking forward to it.

Album art, full track list and tour dates after the jump (no Columbus date; all three NY shows sold out)

Electrocution Bill Fox
Enjoy the Silence Depeche Mode
Love Goes On The Go-Betweens
Janine Arthur Russell
You Were So Warm Dwight Twilley
Love and Anger Kate Bush
The Agony of Laffitte Spoon
Bye Bye Beaute Coralie Clement
Question Moody Blues
Bright Side Soft Pack
Evolution Mercromina
I Remembered What I Was Going to Say The Silly Pillows

2010 Tour Dates:

MARCH
25 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom (“Let Go”) – SOLD OUT
26 – Brooklyn, NY – Bell House (“The Weight is a Gift”) – SOLD OUT
27 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg (“Lucky”) – SOLD OUT
29 – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace*
30 – Montreal, QC – Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour*
31 – Northampton, MA – Pearl Street*

APRIL
01 – Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church*
02 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club*
03 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club*
13 – London, UK – ICA – SOLD OUT
14 – London, UK – ICA – SOLD OUT
15 – France – Printemps de Bourges Festival
17 – France – Strasbourg Artefact Festival
18 – Utrecht, Holland – Tivoli De Helling – SOLD OUT
19 – Brussels, Belgium – Botanique
20 – Koln, Germany – Gloria
21 – Lausanne, Switzerland – D! Club
23 – Zurich, Switzerland – Abart
24 – Vienna, Austria – WUK
25 – Prague, Czech Republic – Lucerna Music Bar
26 – Berlin, Germany – Lido
27 – Hamburg, Germany – Knust
28 – Paris, France – Trabendo
30 – Villagarcia de Arosa, Spain – Festival do Norte

MAY
01 – Murcia, Spain – SOS Festival
15 – Longirod, Switzerland – Long’l'rock Festival
24 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern #
25 – West Hollywood, CA – Troubadour #
27 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall #
29 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom #
30 – George, WA – Sasquatch Music Festival

* = w/ Dawn Landes and the Hounds
# = w/ Telekinesis

Oh man, this his all the right notes. Limited to 1,000. MP3 codes, and it even includes their first record High/Low which was released on Elektra. And priced at $100 it makes it worth the value. Pre-order it here.

Deluxe career-spanning vinyl box set includes:

* All five full-length studio LPs including Elektra debut high/low (available on vinyl exclusively in this box set), the proximity effect, let go, the weight is a gift, and lucky.

* Repressing of the band’s long out-of-print debut 7″ single the plan/telescope.

* 24-page full-color 12″x12″ booklet which includes lyrics for all of the LPs, exclusive photos and tour poster reproductions.

* Single-use full-album MP3 download codes for the proximity effect, let go, the weight is a gift, and lucky. PLUS a very special bonus download folder with 16 b-sides and rarities!!!

* Box set is numbered and strictly limited to 1000 copies worldwide.

The band is also on tour:

November:

21 Denton, TX – Hailey’s #%
22 Austin, TX – Emo’s #%
24 Oklahoma City, OK – Bricktown Ballroom #%
25 Little Rock, AR – Juanita’s #%
28 Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line Music Café #%
29 Chicago, IL – Metro #%

December:

2 Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club #%
4 Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero#%
5 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club #%
6 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom #&
7 New York, NY – Webster Hall#*
8 Hoboken, NJ – Maxwell’s %$

# w/ Delta Spirit
% w/ The Jealous Girlfriends
& w/ Gramercy Arms
* w/ Bear Hands
$ w/ Mary Kate O’Neil

MP3: See These Bones by Nada Surf

Nada Surf’s set list leaned heavily towards “Let Go,” which was fine by me — it’s one of my all time favorite albums. While “The Weight is a Gift” didn’t immediately grab me when it came out, it’s been a bit of a slow burner, slowly becoming an essential part of my music collection.

I was a little worried that the Sea Wolf crowd would leave after their set, but thankfully I was wrong. Both bands earned new fans last night, and I give an A+ to the booking agents who put this tour together. If Wilco wasn’t playing in town tonight, I probably would make my way down to Cincinnati to catch their next show together.

Here’s a bunch of photos of both bands by Kim Rottmayer

Nada Surf

Sea Wolf

The last time Nada Surf played Columbus was for “Let Go,” election day 2004. It was one of the best and worst sets I’ve ever seen – and the band had nothing to do with it. While their music was great, it was overshadowed by the TV screen showing George Bush winning re-election.

Anyway, Nada Surf has released a song from their new album, out in February: See These Bones

Also, Sea Wolf has a new video for “Winter Windows” that can be seen over here.