Album Review: Nearer My God by Foxing

Throughout history, "Nearer My God to Thee" have become infamous last words. The traditional Christian hymn retells Jacob's dream of a ladder reaching all the way to heaven, but it's gotten a reputation for inserting itself into parables of tragic ambition. The Battle of Gettysburg culminated with a disastrous infantry assault by the Confederacy, and its band played the hymn as surviving troops retreated from Pickett's Charge.

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The group recruited erstwhile Death Cab For Cutie member Chris Walla and Hop Along polisher Joe Reinhart for Nearer My God, their new record, and one that unapologetically aims to be a sprawling masterpiece, filled front-to-back with studio antics and vast soundscapes. Not that Foxing lack for choruses on this record. "Bastardizer" mirrors the sparse storytelling of of The Antlers' "Two" but with a taunting, sarcastic melody instead of lo-fi earnestness: "Here lies the magician / Survived by applause but still can't listen / The Bastardizer / The patron saint/Of disconnection / Of feel-no-shame." "Grand Paradise" boasts hysterical gang vocals and some perfectly deployed screaming towards the end, accentuating the pure angst of the chorus.

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If you visit St. Louis band Foxing's bandcamp page, their bio reads: Foxing is a band. Someday Foxing won't be a band.   In just two sentences, a brand is deciphered. Foxing have always circled around existential angst and self-doubt; while the way they present these topics appears to be ever-changing, the release of their third full-length album, Nearer My God, proves that some bands are capable of bending genres while still remaining loyal to a distinct brand.   Nearer My God may present itself as a challenge. While Foxing haven't ….

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