Foxygen are a band worth noticing. Their bright and kooky 60s-70s psych aesthetic adds some much-needed colour and eccentricity when the sound du jour is all about synth and beats.
Last year’s release We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic, as well as being a mouthful, was their game-changer. It improved on 2012 debut Take The Kids Off Broadway which had catchy melodies and exploratory song structures but lacked cohesion.
Century was the most self-contained that Foxygen had ever been, the nine-track harnessing their mainstay of classic, retro-chic rock, each track no more than six minutes in length – the album was intricate enough to not feel derivative, but simple enough to be understood. With its easy momentum, it was the kind of album that would be hard not to get into and to make you start liking these guys.
One year on they’ve gone all out from nine tracks to 24, and its effect suggests that more isn’t always better.
But Arcade Fire did it…
Double CDs don’t tend to sit so well these days, unless you’re the Rolling Stones or The Beatles. But then again, the creative idea is not yet dead with Arcade Fire’s highly-anticipated and generally well-received Reflektor last year.
Even for these heavyweights, finding ‘one voice’ was a challenge, the release’s overarching vision presented in two albums distinctly different from each other. CD one stuck to the roots, while the second was spacier and more ostensibly James Murphy-influenced. CD two in particular was a departure from their previous work, divisive even. Arguably, for die-hard Arcade Fire fans, Reflektor wouldn’t be their number one.
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So what could a double-release do for kitschy, smaller-following LA outfit Foxygen?
…And Star Power feels like an excuse for Foxygen to throw out whatever they possibly can without making much sense.
To sit down and listen to the double album from start to finish is an impossible feat for sober-minded mortals. Like sorting through a shop sales bin, there are bits and pieces of gold in there, but the hard work and patience required is so tiring that you eventually give up.
…And Star Power is disappointing, because it starts off so well, with a noisy jam intro ‘Star Power Airlines’ that leads into the successfully catchy, traditional Foxygen fare of ‘How Can You Really’. From here, it seems, it’s going to be a better version of last year’s release.
But then things become confusing. ‘How Can You Really’ is followed by ‘Coulda Been My Love’, an undeniably tender ballad, but one that feels jarring so early on.
Then comes ‘Cosmic Vibrations’ that starts with a noisy build-up but then re-enters ‘Coulda Been My Love’ territory – a bleak come-down ballad that doesn’t put you in the best frame of mind to keep going.
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For those who manage to push though, the song picks up four minutes in with upbeat rhythms and a sense of hope, but it’s all a little too late. The emotional balance is now all over the place.
Dumped in the middle of the release is a four-part piece titled “Star Power” that commences with “Overture.” This section’s placement is not only random but also not ideal, having at this point only just scraped through the depression of three ballads. To be faced with another beginning is tiring, and this isn’t even yet halfway.
Let’s try focus on the positives here:
The single taken from the release, ‘How Can You Really’ is a good song. It’s both catchy and emotional at the same time, and lives well on its own. Include a couple of the ballads (but not all of them), and you have the beginnings of a half decent album.
There’s no doubt that Foxygen have musical talent, but the curatorship is lacking and masks any of the double album’s successes.
Post Century, you’d think Foxygen would come out with another stunner, but instead they’ve released a filler album that seems more for shits and giggles than any clear creative intent.
It seems these double CDs are best left to the experts. We’ll have to wait for the next release for Foxygen to make good again.
Foxygen’s …And Star Power is out October 10th via Inertia
