When Foxing described their new album Dealer as “a night record”, I was a bit taken aback. Foxing has never struck me as anything but a night band. That’s not to say that their music doesn’t sound amazing at any other time of day, but it has to be said that their music is especially powerful in the middle of a sleepless night. After listening to it, however, “a night record” seems like the perfect way to describe Dealer. It’s a more subtle effort than their debut The Albatross, but every bit as passionate and moving- and then some.

Dealer is an emotionally heavy album. There’s a reason Foxing are associated with the supposed “emo revival” of recent years- they have much in common with bands such as American Football and mewithoutYou, in both style and emotion. Take “Indica” for example, in which singer Conor Murphy, over sparse instrumentation, chronicles the guilt and trauma bandmate, Josh Coll experienced after serving as a soldier in Afghanistan (“I came back broken…”). Album opener “Weave” is another example, in which he laments the draining nature of constantly touring such personal material (“making a living off of drowning...”). The heavy emotions of the album are made that much more painful by the poetic lyrics and Murphy’s expressive delivery, with each line delivered as a delicate murmur or a heart-wrenching howl. The gorgeous instrument arrangements also add plenty of weight, with the space in the production between each part highlighting both technical brilliance and underlying emotion.

Foxing also described Dealer as “a record we’re proud of”. They have every right to be proud. Dealer is a powerful piece of art, and it’s one not to be missed.

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