Record review: Foxygen – We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic (2013 LP)

Foxygen-We-Are-The-21st-Century-Ambassadors-of-Peace-and-Magic-001

There’s an argument that psychedelic flower-power rock belongs in another age; an antiquated, bygone form of music that has no frame of reference in today’s dog-eat-dog world. It never totally went away of course, but it was pushed so far underground that it came close to pushing up daisies instead of wearing them in its hair, as the sixties died off and bled into the dark rock of the early seventies and anarchic punk stylings of the second half of the decade. So, given time to lick its wounds and pick itself up again, flower-power is back in fine form, refitted and retuned to cope with the rigours of the 21st century, and young New York group Foxygen are leading the revival. Despite the influences being glaringly obvious (The Beatles, The Byrds, Lou Reed, The Stones’ more upbeat moments) this ain’t no acid flashback folks – this is flower-power revamped for a new generation. Setting out their stall with a ridiculously lengthy and apt title, Foxygen duo Sam France and Jonathan Rado are clearly wired to another era, and sing with total conviction about missing their West Coast love on San Francisco, and being some kind of new-age troubadours on the title track. There isn’t a dud to be heard on this album of sixties vinyl distortion, catchy melodies, sunny harmonies, and perfectly fuzzy guitar; ‘No Destruction’ being probably the finest example of all the above. Based on this evidence, 2013 could well be the year of peace, love, and Foxygen. (Breakfast Horse)

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