Conor Murphy’s project Smidley has always existed alongside Foxing, but since the band went on hiatus after 2024’s self-titled release, it has become his primary focus. Murphy Horse is Smidley’s first album in four years, born from the time Murphy spent sifting through feelings of joy and confusion after the decision to put Foxing on hiatus. Even though they collectively decided to do that, the feelings of being out of work and wondering what’s next resonated with Murphy, and that became a core part of the record’s inspiration.
“In a way, this Smidley album is all about Foxing,” he explains. “More than anything, these songs are about careers, how you commit your life to something, and then all of a sudden, you feel like you can’t do it anymore. I hope that it rings true for people at a time when it feels like the world is getting laid off. Many of us spend years learning a trade or skill, only to find that it’s no longer valuable. That idea of loving what you do but it being gone is definitely part of this album.”
As for what led to the hiatus, the struggle to complete 2024’s Foxing is well-documented. Grant Sharples wrote a profile of the band for Stereogum that focused on their grueling, regimented process. They toured extensively before announcing the end. By then, the emotional and physical toll of the record-tour-repeat cycle can be heavy, and Foxing cultivated a dedicated following, but that big breakthrough to the next level was elusive, and it can be tough to keep going when music has to coexist with day jobs and the desire to have families.
Murphy says never say never, but for now, it’s better for their well-being to consider Foxing done for good. “It’s better for us to think Foxing is over, just for the sake of our brains. We decided the best way to appreciate what we did is to treat it like we are never coming back, which is the way I am looking at it for now. Our final show in St. Louis was the best show we have ever played. It was beautiful,” he says. “But when I was on my way home from that show, I kind of freaked out, because I didn’t know what was next for the first time in such a long time.”
One of the most important aspects of Murphy coming to terms with the end of Foxing healthily was his relationship with his wife. “After that final show, I didn’t know what to do next, but I knew who I was coming home to. Every song on this record is about that coexistence of uncertainty and stability,” Murphy explains.
While Smidley has been around for a while, Murphy felt a shift in his approach to the project in the wake of the end of Foxing. “In some ways, this album feels like a debut because it’s the first one that wasn’t written as a side project. This is what I’m doing fully now. All my eggs are in this basket,” he says. “At first, Smidley was a side project, a pressure release, so I could go back to Foxing and be ready to collaborate,” he continues. “It was a way for me to be able to continue to be a member of the congress of Foxing. With Smidley, I’m a control freak.”
Murphy has found himself wondering whether music will be his career going forward. “No part of me was ever going to stop making music or playing music, but treating it as a career was definitely up in the air and still is. Financially, it’s always been difficult. I dropped out of college to do Foxing. At age 20, that’s not a tough decision to make. You can decide to sleep on the floor and live in a van, but now I’m married, and I have a dog and a mortgage. Those are things that are not possible if I just do Foxing and Smidley. It became hard to see the path forward with a career in music if I also want a comfortable life,” he explains.
There is also the emotional commitment to making records, which is a little lighter with Smidley. “I would hate to do a Foxing album without being all in on it, and I don’t know how to be all in on that anymore,” Murphy says. “Emotionally, making Foxing records was very taxing, and the touring commitments were much more intense. Smidley is a lot easier because it’s very possible to do a short tour.”
Sonically, Murphy Horse is closer to Foxing’s Draw Down the Moon than their previous release. The lead single, “Love in Every Direction”, typifies that sonic shift and also reflects the progression Murphy has undergone as a lyricist.
“In the early days of Foxing. I was constantly searching for dramatic things in my life that I could write about. At this point, it’s more about writing things down on my phone, like a poetic thing that I could say or writing down something a friend says that is evocative. This is a much healthier way of writing. I feel like I’ve gotten to a much better place. I like my lyrics a lot more now that I can return to them and be proud of the way I wrote them. Maybe ‘Love in Every Direction’ isn’t the most dramatic, insane line, but I like that I turned that idea into something,” Murphy explains.
A throughline of Murphy’s work, regardless of the band, is restlessness and unpredictability. No two Foxing or Smidley records sound the same. There is one for every mood, and the same goes for Smiley. “Everyone has their own favorites, kind of like Radiohead. It’s impossible to say you don’t like them, because they have so many different-sounding records,” he explains. “I think Murphy Horse sounds a lot different than anything else I’ve written, but it also sounds the way that I want to write going forward. When I listen to it, I know what I want to build off of in it for the next Smidley album.”