Foxygen - We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic

Hello everyone! we recently just passed 1000 views, which is a big milestone for me.  I am so happy people have been taking the time to read my opinions on music.  Thank you so much.  Why don't we celebrate with an album review. This week I am thinking people might like Autre Ne Veut's Anxiety, but screw you man! I'm a punk at heart, so I'm doing Foxygen's new album, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic (I'll save Anxiety for next week).

Wow that is a mouthful, and I think it really goes a long way to demonstrating the bombastic, sassy energy that this band puts into their music. On this album, they seem far more comfortable settling into some steadier grooves then in their previous LP, Take the Kids off Broadway, but they still come off sounding like the Rolling stones haven't been taking their ADD medication.

"I see a red door and I want it painted black, no blue, no yellow, no lets leave it red, no LETS KNOCK IT DOWN!"

Of course, I would not necessarily count this against them, but I can easily see how their music could seem ridiculous or uncommitted.  The high energy, tempo changes, and strange lyrics don't exactly paint a graceful picture as much as they do a burlesque parody of 70's rock and roll.

However, on this new album, the lyrics are a lot more comprehensible and more personal than on Take the Kids off Broadway.  Like in the song "On Blue Mountain" which seems to detail a fracturing relationship with Christianity.  The control of energy in this song is just fantastic; the tempo changes smoothly a couple times as the bass and organ swell and burst, and Sam France just screams "On blue mountain God will save you" till it sounds like he basically dies of exhaustion.  Another quite personal track on this album is the song "No Destruction," which talks about getting rejected by a girl for being a pot smoking ne'er do well.  The first verse is quite calm, but his depression turns to frustration in the second verse as he comes back to repeat the same phrases in such an angry sarcastic spit.  It's no mystery how he feels.

Rejection, frustration, failure, and fun all seem to be pretty major themes in this album.  Even on the more relaxed elevator, psych-rock single "San Francisco."   Though I was initially put off by the mockingly cheerful melody and the vocalists' disinterested delivery, the chorus of this song is seriously infectious.  The reverb on the female voice makes it sound like it is inside the singer's head, telling him his decisions are o.k. because "She was bored anyway."  The crass attitude of this song also carries over into my favourite track "Oh Yeah" which should have you dancing at least by the time they start singing the hokey pokey in the second verse.  There is also some stellar guitar work hidden in the background.

The whole album is deeply rooted in smart ass sass, but what really makes it alluring for me is that they are able to take a fun attitude to some downtrodden topic matter.  It is teenage angst at its finest, where frustration and anger are motivated by excess energy and boredom, and validated by rock and roll and drugs.  I feel this album also stands against and mocks some of the music we most associate with rebellious youth culture, like it is a recognition of how patronizing it is to have music made specifically to appeal to the youth.  Foxygen's take on rock and roll is full of sass, which can make it sit uncomfortably between homage and parody, but this album is so full of Holden Caulfield likability and youthful exuberance, its hard not to love it.  Stay gold Foxygen.  Stay gold.

Discussion!

• Would you feel like this album could be a parody or an homage to 70's rock and roll?
• Do you enjoy Sam France's vocal delivery? or does his swing from flat monotone to hoarse screaming put you off?
• Is it too sassy to seriously convey some topic material you can relate to?

Let me know in the comments!