Foxygen
We Are the 21st Century,
Ambassadors of Peace and Magic,
is the bold title of this 2013
album from Foxygen. It’s the
only record of theirs I have, one that
I remember liking, at least a little,
but before I play it today I can
remember nothing about it
or who turned me on to it
or how. It’s a retro affair, a kind of
psychedelic pop that brings to mind
World Party, but noisier, sloppier
production. A less talented Lemon
Twigs, perhaps. There are nice melodies
here, soft background vocals, but
it does get messy, and the messier
it gets, the less I like it. The more
Dylan-esque or Rolling Stones-like
it gets, the less I like it. I’ve never
been a huge fan of lo-fi production,
although bands like The Flaming Lips
could bring me around with great
songs. Sometimes this album
sounds downright silly, like a
demented children’s record. The
singer coos “I left my love in San
Francisco,” and is answered by a
female voice singing back, “that’s okay.
I was born in L.A.” It’s quite lovely, a
sweet song I could listen to a bunch
if it wasn’t on this record with the
rest of these songs, which are sometimes
engaging, funny, musically surprising,
but mostly not. Any number of classic
psychedelic pop bands from the 60’s
will serve as well, no, better, if that’s what you dig.
Foxwarren
I came to Foxwarren by way of the solo
records by a Canadian from Saskatchewan
named Andy Shauf. Imagine a Paul
Simon with an even softer voice, so
soft it almost seems childlike, and a
great gift, like Simon, for storytelling.
The most subdued rock music this dude
had ever heard. I’ve seen him and his
solo band live three times now, and
in all three cases it was like listening
to the home stereo at low volume,
no need for ear plugs and no need
to be snarky at concert goers who might
talk over the top of the performance
because no one at an Andy Shauf show
does that shit. So after grabbing and
loving a couple of his solo records,
I learn that he’s also got a band, I mean,
a bonafide band that he sings for, but
takes the same billing and credit as
everybody else. I’ve got the first Foxwarren
album on CD and the second one on vinyl.
While Andy’s solo records are quiet
little rock operas, almost always conceptual,
Foxwarren plays a louder kind of quiet
rock without ties to overarching stories
or themes, even though this record, the
sophomore album unassumingly titled 2,
is tied together by samples and short
musical interludes from very old
romantic films. Great songs. Terrific melodies.
And while I don’t have hardly any of
the lyrics memorized beyond a chorus
here and there, I can hum along to
every song on this record. Foxwarren
chooses a kind of lo-fi production as well,
but it’s not noisy or messy, just a kind
of 70’s minimalism, muted drums,
understated guitar work, some groovy
keyboard samples and pads, and Andy’s
mostly unaffected, soft, plainspoken coo.
I love these Canadians.
Notes on the vinyl editions:
- Foxygen, We Are The 21st Century, Ambassadors of Peace and Magic, Jagjaguwar Records, 2013, black vinyl.
- Foxwarren, 2, Anti Records, 2025, baby blue vinyl.
In case you don’t already know: I’m listening to almost everything in my vinyl collection, A to Z, and writing at least one, sometimes two or three long skinny poem-like-things in response for each artist, and on a few occasions, writing a long skinny poem-like-thing in response to more than one artist. As a poet and a student of poetry, I understand that these things look like poems, but they don’t really sound much like poetry, hence, I call them “poem-like-things.” I’ll admit that they’re just long, skinny essays that veer every now and then into the poetic or lyric.
michael jarmer 