Foxing in Concert
Foxing formed in 2011 in St. Louis, at the crossroads where the intimate, heart-on-sleeve catharsis of emo and the expansive sonic scope of post-rock intersect. On the band's 2013 debut ‘The Albatross,' the group navigated a precarious balance between their elegant, piano-twinkled arrangements and the battle-scarred vocals of bassist Conor Murphy, whose elastic performances could veer from soothingly soulful to anguished in the span of a single line (When you hear him croak out the devastating chorus of "Rory" — "so why don't you love me back?" — you can practically feel the swollen ache in his Adam's apple).
That album catapulted Foxing to the frontlines of the early-2010s emo renaissance, landing them tours with fellow torchbearers like The Hotelier and Modern Baseball. Their sophomore 2015 release, ‘The Dealer,' upped the ante with more intensely personal revelations like "The Magdalene" (on which Murphy wrestles with his Catholic guilt) and "Indica" (written by guitarist Josh Coll about his traumatic tour of duty in Afghanistan).
The album cracked the Top 5 on both Billboard's Heatseekers and Vinyl Albums charts, a telling indicator of Foxing's burgeoning appeal beyond the often-ghettoized world of emo. They would make good on that promise with their 2018 album, ‘Nearer My God,' their first since Coll's departure the previous year to pursue filmmaking (There's no hard feelings, though — Coll directed the interconnected videos for the album's singles).
Co-produced by Foxing guitarist Eric Hudson with former Death Cab for Cutie member Chris Walla (who first contacted the band to offer support after their near-fatal van crash in 2016), ‘Nearer My God' sees Foxing trying on modern-R&B minimalism ("Slapstick"), anthemic synth-pop surges (the title track), and — why not — bagpipes ("Bastardizer") without sacrificing their tender, heartfelt essence.
As their musical ambitions have expanded, so too has the band itself: onstage, the nominal quartet have blossomed into a seven-piece, with additional keyboardists and horn players to give these songs the epic treatment they deserve.