Nearer My God

I was under the impression that this was a post-rock band, but it's literally just Arcade Fire if they were sauceless and overproduced. Boo, scammed once again.

Strong whiffs of TV On The Radio in this one, also displaying emo or post-rock flavors at times. The title-track can also remind you of M83. So file *Nearer My God* under the "art rock" label. There's not a single bad track in this LP, some intense instrumental or vocal moments shine bright, and yet, that being said, I still have trouble finding my footing listening to the album. It's not because of the variety of styles (all of them are well pulled-off). It's not the productions values. It's obviously neither the musicianship nor the way the music is written. So what is it, then? I don't know... Maybe it's because there are very few memorable vocal lines on first listens -- you can be intense vocally and yet still miss the dynamics that generally make a sung melody endearing. But given that everything else is excellent, maybe those vocal earworms will be easier to pinpoint after a few more spins... We'll see. ---- 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums rounded up to 4 8.5/10 for more general purposes: 5 + 3.5 ---- Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ----- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 50 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 67 (including this one) Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 121 --- Hey, Émile. Tu as déjà dû voir ma dernière réponse sous la review de *Young, Loud And Snotty* des Dead Boys ! J'essaie d'écrire la mienne bientôt

Nearer My God is the third studio album by American rock band Foxing. It starts fantastic with the first four tracks and especially the album opener "Grand Paradise". The songs are beautifully arranged and orchestrated by the large team of musicians. Sometime things get a bit over-complex and overthought.

When you ask AI to create a band that sounds sorta like Arcade Fire.

I literally just finished listening to this and am STRUGGLING to remember a single thing about it. In one ear and out the other rock music. The little spotify animation featured a cool kind of facehugger alien thing. I liked that.

This album reminded me a bit of Band Of Horses (ironicle, cause of the album cover), which I love very much. And I must admit, Foxing gets pretty close. So a solid 5 stars are earned

Super deserved. This album is not only impressive for an emo album but also really expands upon the genre in unique ways.

A solid indie rock record. Reminded me of TV on the Radio for some reason.

Really enjoyed this, my idea of modern rock, added to my frequent rotation.

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Lich prince, Nearer my god, Five cups, Heartbeats, Bastardizer, Crown candy

Hey I know these guys. Good album

Some pretty good rock, it leaned toward the great side of good for me.

Solid and right up one’s alley, but not exactly blazing with originality. At least, however they have the good sense to mimic quality bands (most notably [and obviously] TVOTR and Arcade Fire). That streaming algos spit out a succession of interesting, similarly engaging cuts after the album ends also affirms the quality here. One vaguely remembers trying them out in real time, but they never took, though they might be worth a rotational turn or two now (and what more can one ask for any recommendations, not just those from this esteemed group). Rounding up because cool band and album names (and cover image).

January 28, 2026 HL: "Grand Paradise", "Gameshark", title track, "Trapped At Dillard's", "Won't Drown" I had the phrase "I rate this four horses out of five" in my head before I heard a second of this band. I think I'm funny. But the more I hear (listening to "Won't Drown" atm), the more that rating might be serious. The first rough patch after a pretty great start was the meandering "Five Cups", though it does its best to hold the lush soundscape the whole album offers. Kind of similar to TV on the Radio, in that it mixes radio-friendly hooks with off-kilter production choices. Just because it resembles some of the indie picks from the 1001 doesn't mean I am not glad to find this here.

One of the reviews was “sometimes rock, sometimes punk, sometimes just noise” which “reminded them of Radiohead” which to me is uhh yea sure

There was nothing specific about this that made me think it was bad - however, there was also nothing distinguishable about this. Why should I care about this entirely middle-of-the-road work by a band I've never heard of? It's tempting to wait until the person who suggested this can give some interpretation of it.

All filler, no killer; like the songs between the good songs on an indie radio station. Not terrible, not memorable, but a pleasant enough way to pass the time.

Yeah pretty damn mid ngl

Art rock, indie rock, emo, electronic, post-rock, dream pop. Ni fu ni fa.

Pulled two different directions with this one – there was some exceptional indie rock at times, the pounding guitar and touch of synth making for some great tracks, but then the LP would slouch back into tepid, banal waters and leave me wanting. Additionally, the vocals on this were (to me) pretty bad and took away from the instrumentation. Giving this a 3 as it sits on a knife edge for me, and I liked some of the band’s other work that came up on shuffle afterwards. Despite my mixed feelings I was still sad to hear these guys threw in the towel recently, never fun when an indie band calls it quits.

I liked the orchestral accompaniment

Listened to this album a few times and it was hard to pinpoint exactly how I felt. Maybe because the singer or singers style changed so much it was hard to get into a groove enjoying it. The post rock sounded like late 2000s. The indie sounded like typical 2010s indie. It’s a tough album to enjoy but it’s not a bad album overall. 6.3/10

It reminded me of Arcade Fire in its anthemic approach and M83 in its electronic savvy. I liked it. I didn’t love it but then again, do I have to in order to appreciate the music? I guess I do if I want to say that it needs to be on the original list.

I liked this all right. Stayed pretty much in a particular lane of indie rock that maybe owes a bit more to U2 than it might care to own up to, the falsetto vocals needed more variety but fit the purpose. Nothing hooked me deeply but it was solid.

An alright listen but didn't pull me in a great or terrible direction.

Nearer My God is pretty good in places but suffers from a really annoying habit of most of the songs starting really badly, mumbling and meandering going nowhere and then finding an epic crescendo towards the end which really does work well and sound good. I just wish it wasn't a deliberate choice because it makes the album harder to connect with. Slapstick and Heartbeats the best tracks, just gets a 3.

Listenable, but nothing special. I tried, but had a hard time getting into it. Skipped a couple of tracks. Not for me this one.

Enjoyable enough.

This record wants to be so many things and all it can manage is to sound like parts of other bands. I hear TV On The Radio, early Arcade Fire, M83, Explosions in the Sky and others. It's not a bad record. But it lacks identity

Another indie band I should like but it doesn't do it for me. It's not bad, it's just there. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Slight no.

Some solid indie rock but nothing that really perked my ears. There were a couple of songs where the energy picked up with some exciting moments, but for the most part it felt pretty samey as it moved from one idea to the next. In a post-Radiohead world of rock music, it takes more to stand out than simply flexing the dynamics and eschewing the verse-chorus-verse structure. Not bad, just needs something fresh. Lambert was a phenomenal closing track though; I'll never get enough of closers like that. CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: There are better contenders in the field of late 2010s indie rock. Mitski comes to mind.

I guess maybe my expectations of indie rock are too high and I should accept that “indie” is no longer an ethos, but a “sound” to be achieved. This record was fine, but didn’t really offer much that you couldn’t hear from Tv On the Radio or some other late aughts/mid-2010’s indie bands. They do it well, but I’m not sure there’s much new ground broken here.

I don't know what to do with this? Musically I am sooo vibing with it, but the vocalist just sounds weak and even screechy at times.

Pretty meh indie rock. I mean, I liked it fine, but forgot about it after listening.

It's not bad, but it didn't grab me.

Could be worse 2

This is like a combo of other acts that I like better

Bog standard rock album with that usual problem of overlooking the need to have some melodies to go with the sound.

Honestly, I couldn’t wait for this album to be over. It’s faux-indie rock, meticulously engineered to hum politely in the background of a Starbucks.. safe, soft, spineless, weak and completely allergic to risk.

I don’t think I minded this one, but honestly it didn’t make any impact.