Album Rating: 3.5

The Smidley record is soooo good. On the right day I’d even suggest it could be my favourite thing from Conor, it’s one of his most realised projects

Also I do not accept albatross slander, the way Conor sings “baying at yer door” in Bloodhound I could listen to forever

Album Rating: 2.9

Smidley is just a couple hairs behind NMG as my ranking implies, fantastic album



Albatross is a phenomenal EP stretched out to album length. still has some all-timers on there, but some cringe lyrics and a bit saggy towards the end (who on earth thought the album needed to continue past Den Mother??)

“Also I do not accept Albatross slander”
Is a total vibe

Album Rating: 4.0

Quietus is great don’t be a h8r

Album Rating: 4.0

V excited to see these guys and Manchester together in Feb

Album Rating: 2.5

hmm...

still waiting for them to put a fox on an album cover

Album Rating: 4.0

sometimes my ranking is Dealer >= Albatross > NMG, sometimes it's NMG > Dealer >= Albatross. mood dependent I guess? new one is easily my least favorite but still really enjoyed it. will give it a more awake listen tomorrow. 737 is perfect

Album Rating: 4.0

"who on earth thought the album needed to continue past Den Mother??"



what a direct attack on Quietus.



BUT I COULD NOT CONTAIN YOOOOOUUUUUUU fuck man

Album Rating: 4.0

Beacons was great. didn't super fall in love with the other 3 new ones on first listen but it be almost 5am and i only listened to the live recording versions (which were fantastic for everything else). they were still good though, probably liked the acoustic one the most of those.



Speak With The Dead is still outstanding but tbh?? i can see there being a song after it. idk if that's my hatred towards closer singles talking but idk, it just sounds like there's something that should come after it

Album Rating: 3.5

After one listen:



- It's already better than NMG

- At Last We Found The Floor is the worst song they've ever written

- Why is every chorus is one line repeated 15 times???

Album Rating: 4.5

"Speak With The Dead is still outstanding but tbh?? i can see there being a song after it. idk if that's my hatred towards closer singles talking but idk, it just sounds like there's something that should come after it"

I think that's the single talking. Song is basically the perfect closer, and I still wish they would have released literally any song other than that one prior to this dropping. At the end of the day it shouldn't really matter, but that would have been a spectacular surprise on release day (sort of like how 737 blew so many minds).



"After one listen:

- It's already better than NMG

- At Last We Found The Floor is the worst song they've ever written

- Why is every chorus is one line repeated 15 times???"

Some hefty praise there. On the one hand it warms my heart to see it, but on the other hand I can't endorse this being better than NMG. This is almost as good though, and that alone is an amazing feat. I agree about the chorus repetition; simplicity was almost like a theme here and it only works because the hooks are so damn huge, the choruses anthemic, and the intensity palpable. I should ass that the lyrics outside of the repeated choruses are downright incredible in spots; particularly Bialystok: "I was just thinking about arguing in the kitchеn / Just to be the one that you argue with / Is a miracle in itself" is my favorite line on the record so far.

Album Rating: 4.5

"V excited to see these guys and Manchester together in Feb"

My dream show tbh, both MO and Foxing are in my top 10 bands currently playing.



"Albatross is a phenomenal EP stretched out to album length."

I've always sort of felt this way too unfortunately. Bloodhound is also my favorite song from the album. Not sure if that's something the Albatross diehards would see as blasphemous lol.

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

after repeated listens and jamming nmg again i think i'm even more disappointed with this lol :[ it's like ddtm still sounds like foxing but they simultaneously lost what made them who they are/were.. nmg blends the experimental weirdness with unmistakably pretty parts, this tones down the experimentation and throws the prettiness out of the window altogether. it's still good bc they're great songwriters but yeah, not gr8 rip big sad

anyway yes bloodhound is one of the highlights on albatross agreed!

Album Rating: 4.5

I'm sad to see that because I was exactly 71% confident that this would grow on you and we'd be seeing a fat 3.5 from you today. I have to relunctantly agree with some of your points and vehemently oppose some others; they def. didn't lose who they were IMO if anything this is a direct extension of the "going for broke" mentality of NMG. Agreed that they toned down the experimentalism but not that they threw out the prettiness. Also, what prettiness? :-D NMG was visceral, paranoid, and conspiracy-laced and I find beauty in that but it certainly wasn't pretty in a traditional sense. Also big ups on the Bloodhound confirmation, appreciate it because I know next to nothing about Albatross or how fans perceive it. NMG was my intro and I backtracked to Albatross and Dealer, which is possibly part of the reason why I prefer NMG and this to either of those records (which are both still great in their own rights).

They'll probably never release an album I'll love as much as I love Dealer. For me it goes

Dealer >>> NMG >> Albatross. I love all 3 albums though. I also love Smidley (hopefully there will be a followup). The Patreon covers have also been super enjoyable, Torn being my favourite.

This album will have to grow on me (and it probably will because I love Foxing and everything they've released). The best songs are easily the opener and the closer (but it's very odd that they released the closer first). If I believed in Love is also great. Everything else I'll have to take my time with. It won't touch Dealer but it might be close to the other 2 for me eventually.

Album Rating: 4.5

I need to revisit Dealer more often than I do, because I listened to it maybe 2-3 times shortly after NMG dropped, found it pretty but not very impactful. I returned to it at the urging of others in 2019 and gave it another couple spins, but still couldn't get much out of it besides how "pretty" it all was. That said it's been ~2 yrs, so I'm due to revisit it.

Either way, all their albums are 4/5 or higher for me, easily one of my top 10 favorite active bands.

Album Rating: 4.5

This would be my lose track ranking right now:

1) 737 - 5/5

2) Speak With The Dead - 5/5

3) If I Believed in Love - 4.5/5

4) Draw Down The Moon - 4.5/5

5) Where the Lightning Strikes Twice - 4.5/5

6) Bialystok - 4.5/5

7) Go Down Together - 4/5

8) Cold Blooded - 4/5

9) Beacons - 3.5/5

10) At Least We Found the Floor - 3.5/5

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

haha sorry to disappoint sowing!

"Also, what prettiness?" mostly meant the gorgeous guitar twinkles in 'slapstick', the way the violins intertwine in 'heartbeats', the piano melodies in 'trapped in dillard's' etc. with that; like the post rock-y elements carried over from their first two. but yeah this could still grow on me, maybe if i trick myself into perceiving it as an album rather than a foxing album lol

albatross is a record i spent many sad nights with, but also one that was 'more' than just another emo album my 15 yo self could cry to lol. it served as a gateway to a bunch of different genres for me so i love it a lot for that (as well as the music just being gorgeous)

Album Rating: 4.5

Ah yeah, I tend to conveniently overlook the tracks you mentioned because they're not really why I listen to NMG, but you're right there's some objective prettiness there. Yeah, hope this grows but you're certainly not the only one who's mildly disappointed with the way they shook things up here.