Foxygen - "Hang"

Man, let me tell you, I have been absolutely DYING for a new Foxygen album for a long time.  In the early days of Foxygen, there really wasn't anybody like these guys.  Sure, there are tons of modern bands in the indie field doing major throwbacks to the 60's and 70's psychedelic rock revolution, but not nearly as excitingly and as interesting as Foxygen.  Their first full length album, "Take The Kids Off Broadway" was absolutely fantastic from start to finish.  Foxygen took these psychedelic revival sounds that were so popular around the time this came out, and polished them into these quirky, extravagant, exciting pieces that demanded numerous listens.  Foxygen not only were taking these sounds and making them fantastic, but I felt in the presence of true rock eccentrics, guys that would throw it all at me.  And THAT my friends, was exciting.  Then, Foxygen took it upon themselves to go bigger and better in every way with their second album, "We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic".  Everything about this album was on a much grander stage.  The psychedelic quirks remained, but Foxygen were no longer a few young men who decided to experiment with a classic sound.  No, on this album they BECAME that sound.  Tracks like "San Francisco" and "On Blue Mountain" were near perfect, elegant yet eccentric Psych Rock gems.  The production was better, the songwriting had grown, "We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic" was pretty much a modern masterpiece.  However, one thing that DID stay was the unpredictability, I never knew where Foxygen would take their influence from next, and that seriously made being a Foxygen fan so exciting.  But all of this great stuff to say about Foxygen quickly got thrown out the window when it came to their next album, "...And Star Power".  I don't think this album is a complete throwaway, "How Can You Really" and "Coulda Been My Love" are great tunes, but the other HOUR AND 15 MINUTES are shallow attempts to harness the same sound they had become so comfortable with.  Everything about this album was just so un-exciting, to the point where I was VERY worried about the future of Foxygen.  However, all of those worries got washed away as soon as I heard the first few singles from this album.  Did Foxygen make the triumphant comeback that I was hoping they would?  Let's find out!

(God I love these guys)

Starting off “Hang” is “Follow The Leader”, which when it was released last year instantly became one of my favorite singles of last year.  It’s just such a cool, soulful sound to start off the album.  Foxygen have always been a couple of dudes living in the past.  But here they switch it up just a little bit.  Their sound has almost always stuck strongly to a psych rock, Rolling Stones worship sound, but here they’re almost going for a old school funk/R&B sound.  To be honest, they pick it up quickly and sound fantastic on this new sound.  Only 10-15 seconds in, and it’s clear that Foxygen are already sounding rejuvenated.  The orchestrations are overpowering and quite stunning, Sam France’s vocals are sleazy and sexy, and while this may be the most pristinely produced Foxygen track it’s still one hell of a journey.  The backing vocals actually do a TON for this sexy atmosphere, and overall I just have to commend Foxygen for really taking on this sound.  Time after time, I’ve always loved how Foxygen don’t just take on a sound, they literally dive headfirst into it and completely let in encapsulate everything about them, and here is no different.  This is just a fantastic opening track, once again I feel like i’m in the presence of an indie rock duo that is willing to throw everything they possibly have my way.  Up next is “Avalon”, which starts out with some upbeat ragtime piano which is certainly hard to pull off.  Foxygen do it justice however, and it comes off wonderfully.  The music on “Hang” has so much depth to it, it makes you feel like you’re sitting front row for the grandest indie stage show in history.  The backing orchestrations are a gigantic part of this album, and they really start coming into their own light on “Avalon”.  This is by far the biggest sounding and biggest produced album Foxygen have ever touched, but God does it ever work for them.  There are moments here that are borderline so freakin’ goofy, if you’re into musicals even slightly this is absolutely a project you want to check out.  It’s upbeat, it’s explosive, and I find myself fighting the urge to burst out singing at the end of each verse with these gigantic choruses.  Obviously “Hang” is a huge change in direction for Foxygen, but there are plenty of their old eccentricities floating around, between Sam France’s over the top performances and these quirky instrumental breaks.  On the other hand, Foxygen have certainly grown up and gotten more mature in the years since their breakthrough, not just lyrically, but stylistically.  As fantastic as their first few records were, you can tell they were just letting loose and making what THEY wanted to make, which is fantastic.  The music on “Hang” however seems like they are so much more focused on making truly great music.  But once again, if you’re not into super over the top performances, you may not be into this at all.  “Mrs. Adams” up next is even more peppy and even more jolly, and I can’t say no to any of it.  Sam France’s vocal delivery has gotten more theatrical and even more distinct over the years.  I don’t know how long it took to craft some of these tunes, but this is just such a gigantic production that it literally comes off like Foxygen have taken years meticulously crafting every last details of this.  Some moments remain cheesy, but the bulk of this has an elegance to it that I just find fascinating.  I mean, I have no idea how they plan on recreating all of this for live shows, but I can’t wait to see them try.  There’s just so much emotion packed into all of this, and Foxygen seriously sound confident in all of this.  I would swear that as these tracks go on and on, they keep getting more and more elaborate and epic sounding, these drum fills and climaxes are absolutely ridiculous.  And as grandiose and over-the-top as this is, it’s bizarrely not full of itself.  “America” is up next, and these performances just keep getting bigger and bigger.   Sam France’s performance here sounds like a bizarre cross between Of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes and IceAge’s Elias Bender Rønnenfelt, but in the best way possible.  France’s performance here is absolutely stunning and memorable.  I literally feel like listening to this album is like stumbling across some long forgotten musical, this seriously has some old-time beauty to it.  When it comes to tracks like “America”, the way everything builds up behind these gigantic instrumentals is honestly overwhelming.  I love the progressive pop elements here as well, as the tempo and even the genre seems to be constantly changing.  Once again though, if you’re not into super over-the-top performances you may be iffy on this, however, some of these instrumentals will blow your mind no matter what you’re into.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-tZ1gbc2pQ

"On Lankershim" may just be the most straightforward rock track here, but it's also a major standout.  It actually has a very old school Foxygen feel to it, this easily could have landed on their "We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic" album.  When Foxygen go for some of these vocal harmonies, most of the time they come off pretty remarkable.  The vocals here on "On Lankershim" might just be the nicest and warmest on the entire album.  Hell, there's even a slight country flair to this one, which I can totally understand if you're not into but man do I ever love it.  There's a whole lot of simplicity to this one, but after the extravagant, over-the-top first half of the album they deserve it.  "on Lankershim" is just so peppy and blissful that I can't say no, it may be one of the shortest tracks here, but it certainly feels complete.  "Upon A Hill" is one of the very few tracks on the album that I feel is a bit much.  While I certainly do still enjoy it, I feel like more than anything it's just an attempt to show off Sam France's vocal work.  Once again, there's certainly nothing wrong with that, but if you're not into him being the star this one is gonna pass right by you.  His performance however, is certainly commendable, he's always been able to hit these low notes and here is no different.  I think my biggest problem with this track is just how short it is, this comes off practically as an interlude.  While the backing vocals and the overall drama are nice, everything else comes off as an incomplete thought.  It's still far from bad though, and to be honest I rather love when the track dissolves basically into a polka for the last 30 seconds or so.  On "Trauma", clearly these orchestral arrangements aren't giving up a single bit, and Sam France isn't getting any less into these performances either.  While he can certainly hit the lower notes, I dunno I've always enjoyed his more energetic and wild performances.  This one's a slow burner for sure, and it's certainly powerful, but it's also a bit more gimmicky I feel like.  The performances are commendable certainly. and the backup singers seriously add quite a bit.  So yea, it's not terrible, but personally I would have much rather this have been the closing track.  The finale here is "Rise Up", which doesn't waste a single second of anyone's time.  France's vocals right off the bat are super over the top, but not to the point where they come off as too much.  Overall though what a ridiculous track this is.  Lyrically this has gotten just as passionate and over-the-top as everything else here, but I seriously can't help myself from eating it all up.  I feel like overall "Hang" has some gigantic narrative to it, but I can't follow it to save my life.  "Rise Up" though is wonderful, it shows Foxygen really getting back on track just in time to finish the album strongly.  It's so elegant and explosive, while also being oddly inspirational.  After the disaster that was their last album, "Hang" overall is a fantastic return to form, ushering back Foxygen as one of indie's most exciting groups.


Rating: 8.5/10

Give A Listen To: "Follow The Leader", "Mrs. Adams", On Lankershim", "Rise Up"

Overall Thoughts:  Foxygen with their last album were going down an awful path.  It showed Foxygen overblowing everything that was great about their sound and making it this awful muddled mess with no direction.  "Hang" is just the opposite.  It shows that Foxygen still have plenty of creative juices, as they've concocted some of their most elaborate, exciting tracks yet.  "Hang" comes off almost as an indie rock musical, often with explosive choruses and toe-tapping verses.  It's not going to be for everyone, but if you like Foxygen's glory days, this is absolutely something you want to check out.