After making fans solve a riddle earlier this month to hear their first single since Nearer My God, Foxing have officially released the song — “Speak With The Dead” (featuring Yoni Wolf of WHY? and co-produced by Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra) — on all streaming services. If you haven’t heard it yet, you should change that now.

Nearer My God, though it wasn’t really an emo record, felt like the apex of the 2010s emo revival movement. When we named it the second best punk or emo album of the decade, we said it’s to “emo revival” what OK Computer is to Britpop and grunge; Foxing could have stopped there and their legacy as a generation-defining band would’ve been complete. It can’t be easy to top something like that, but “Speak With The Dead” feels like as much of a leap in creativity from Nearer My God as that album did from its also-excellent 2015 predecessor Dealer. It’s seven minutes in length, and by the time you get to your third or fourth listen, it feels like half that. Like Nearer My God, it’s an atmospheric art rock song — it almost reminds me a little of self-titled Bon Iver — but Foxing’s roots in post-hardcore take it to a louder, more cathartic place than you might expect from the phrase “art rock.” Jon Hellwig’s thunderous drumming alone would make this song explosive, but instead, it acts as the earthquake to the volcanic eruption of Conor Murphy’s chorus, a hook so instantly satisfying that this song already feels like a classic.

It’s a dynamic, shapeshifting song that feels like it’s constantly in motion, always taking to you new places when you least expect it to, like Yoni Wolf’s ethereal vocal layering or Foxing guitarist/producer Eric Hudson’s ’70s prog soloing. If you thought Eric shredded on “Lich Prince,” wait until you hear this.

In addition to production by Eric and Andy Hull, the new song was also mixed by John Congleton (St. Vincent, Angel Olsen, Sharon Van Etten, Cloud Nothings, etc), and the video was made by Conor Murphy along with Hayden Molinarolo and Dylan Schnitker. The new song is the first release for Foxing’s own new label Grand Paradise. No word on a new album title or release date yet, but stay tuned.

Watch the “Speak With The Dead” video below…

homepage photo by Carly Hoskins