Foxing - Foxing (September 13, 2024) • Page 35

This hasn't edged out OGWAU yet for AOTY for me but I've had that album for months and this one days and it's already at #2. With time, I'm sure this will end up at #1, especially if the live show rips.

 

What is OGWAU?

 

Hall Of Frozen Heads gives U2 vibes

 

Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us, sorry for the abbreviation.

 

not a dig at anyone but I tend to fall for albums more easily when I don’t concern myself with how it stacks up against the rest of their discog or other albums released in an arbitrary calendar year and just meet an album on its own terms and take it as it is and evaluate it on those terms instead of constant comparisons to other stuff it’s easier for things to really sink their hook in. I get the analytical “well it doesn’t stack up to x previous album” or “it’s good but not my album of the year” approach, it drives most of the conversations on this website, but 9 times out of 10 things tend to hit better when I forget all that shit. Not saying it’ll suddenly make you absolutely love this album but…def go in with your preconceived notions of foxing and alt rock in the year of 2024 left at the door and it just might click

 

This is exactly how I’ve been shifting my way of thinking the last few years. Why make everything compete when I get to enjoy it all?

 

I’ve stopped keeping an album of the year ranking until like ten minutes before I post a list because ultimately it doesn’t matter. Not saying it’s wrong to care about it and track your favorite albums but I also think it can be stifling to listen to new albums and focus on how it compares to other albums that just so happened to also come out in the same year. It just doesn’t work for me anymore and the amount of comments I see when a new album drops immediately comparing it to the rest of the year just doesn’t compute. I have similar thoughts about the discography rankings on the day an album drops which makes more sense as more time passes but yeah

 

When I die I want to come back as the bassline in Barking

 

I agree and I do try my best to do this but it’s hard with a band like foxing where my favorite album of theirs is still years later just an absolute gut punch every listen! I do love this album though and if I’m being honest I think the problem was just listening to the singles too many times which I knew was a bad idea but still, haha.

 

I used to keep lists and have stopped only because I don't have as much time to listen to music as I used to and personally, I don't feel like either approach has any affect on how much I like an album.

 

I get it, it’s not easy to discard the context you have for a bands new album and I’d argue it’s not something I’m able to 100% do but making an effort can definitely make an album hit in a way it wouldn’t have otherwise. I also think when you hold an album from a band in such high regard that it’s a favorite of all time that has withstood years of heavy rotation and memories and connections made it’s a tall order to ask them to match that within the first few times you even listen to their new album. For me, it’s usually enough that a bands new album is good or great, doesn’t have to be their best. that kind of deep connection takes time and maybe it won’t happen, I have no way of knowing but I’m gonna keep listening if I like it. Again not saying you’re down on it or wrong about how you feel

 

Totally agree! It’s not like there’s a right way to be doing any of this. I went into everything that way for most of my life, but I think that change in mindset kinda reinvigorated my love for music a bit. I try to just go into everything fresh and hope I can add it to a long imaginary list of stuff I love.


There’s also just so much fucking music constantly coming out. I don’t have the brain power to make lists and rankings anymore. Lmao

 

Oh yeah I got burnt the fuck out listening to 200-300 albums a year or more and trying to comprehend how they compare to each other when most of the albums have no business being put side by side with each other (like how do I compare a floating points album and a foxing album, to give two examples from last week) and now I find myself actually really deeply loving more music than I did in those years even though I was listening to way more very little was actually sticking the way I was hoping it would. Less is more and all that. But again that’s my personal experience that is heavily influenced by what’s gone on in my life outside of music and the impact it’s had on how I engage with art cannot be over stated. Some people need lists and rankings to keep track of what they listen to and make heads or tails of what to listen to.

 

I get the Tame Impala comp on Barking but kinda surprised no one said Manchester Orchestra too, idk didn’t think of it until tonight and I’m tired and depressed so idk but yeah I agree re: not comparing to other albums/ranking/listening as it’s own piece, also agree it’s great yet not quite blowing me away. As a musician I understand the catharsis of making an album that’s more for your own creative expression than for any specific audience and it resonates with me on that level and I find it to be challenging, emotionally heavy and definitely worth a lot more attention. Greyhound is amazing in context, Barking, Gratitude and Hall of Frozen Heads are all on fantastic level for me, I’m sure the rest will grow each listen

 

I wasn’t necessarily “blown away” on first listen either, I definitely loved it but NOW after familiarizing myself with it after a couple days of constant spinning I’m pretty fucking floored. I find myself constantly thinking about one element or another of a certain song at any given moment throughout the day when I’m not listening

 

This is a grower album imo

 

I’m floored with this album, it’s everything I want a foxing album to be. My only minor issue is that this is not one I can really listen to with my wife, she has zero tolerance for screaming lol. Never been an issue with them before

 

I can’t listen to it with my wife cuz of Cleaning lol

 

Yeah I definitely feel that and can relate.

I think it’s sort of how I always viewed artists experimenting with their sound or making drastic changes in genre. I’m just here for the ride and hope whatever an artist does clicks with me so I can stay on that journey with them.

 

Should’ve finished my current listen before my last post lol, Looks like Nothing is def in my top tier of songs here and Dead Internet probably joining that list soon

 

I have slowed down on album lists etc but keep a 2024 playlist with my favourite songs, then rank them at end of year.
This is a great album for focusing on the complete work and not worrying about picking out a few choice tracks. Obviously it has standout songs (Hell 99, Gratitude, Hall) but when I listen to this album I just think it could not be less suited to such an exercise - and that's a good thing (and almost the opposite of DDTM).

 

Honestly I love AOTY lists, but it’s less about the competition, and more about keeping a record of things I like. I really only love 10-15 albums a year usually, and I keep my favorites from those in playlists for their specific years and then a big playlist with every song from all the playlists. The yearly playlists end up being little time capsules that really transport back to the year when I was listening to all that stuff.

 

side note: drawn down the moon is so good. beacons is an all timer

 

I really want to see them play Beacons and Gratitude back to back live

 

Spit is so good