Review Summary: I wanna trick my body and my brain into a new place, into a fugue state, give me snapping of the brain.
Dissonant, dynamic, and powerful, Foxing’s self-titled record dares us to wake from the comfortable lull of modernity and challenge life head on. The artists incorporate elements of indie rock, post-hardcore and emo into a frenzied fusion, with occasional swift transitions between vocal styles intended to mimic the feeling of an oncoming existential crisis. Completely purposeful, these moments are liable to leave the listener with a sense of auditory whiplash. This is especially evident in the first track, “Secret History”, where Conor Murphy progresses from a music box backed, somber ballad (giving his best Chris Martin impression), straight into a hellish screech relating his self-awareness of dashed dreams.
The mood of the album gradually shifts from anxiety induced mania, to a calm embrace of reality. Comparing the lyrics from “Hell 99” and “Hall of Frozen Heads” makes this apparent: “Throw out all the joy and show me metrics for my failures, I live in modern times give me a modern sense of worth. I told myself there has to be a better quality of suffering, there has to be fatigue worthy of something but there’s nothing.” Contrasts with: “I’ve been harboring resentment meant for lack of eventfulness in divine sense. I wanna be Saul to Paul in Damascus awakened above the masses. The last gasp of god before the rapture, chariotted high above a glass earth”
Foxing takes the listener from the brink of nihilism into a reality-oriented optimism. Though chaotic and challenging, this album offers an honest, introspective take on confronting the void of emotionlessness that many of us encounter in life.
