Karla Rendon
Editorial Director
Experimental indie rock duo Foxygen impressed fans with their new album, “…And Star Power,” which was released on Oct. 14.
Fused with modern day sounds and 60s inspired psychedelic grooves, even the biggest fans of classic psychedelic rock will enjoy “…And Star Power.”
Each song has a hint of classic rock inspired musicians such as The Beatles, Elton John and Bob Dylan.
The album contains 24 funky songs that will give listeners nostalgia for the 60s despite most listeners not even having been alive at the time.
“…And Star Power” starts off a ridiculous number titled ‘Star Power Airlines.” The song is just a two-minute piece of blurred noise that sets an obscure tone for the entire album, possibly repulsing some listeners.
Thankfully though, the album’s mediocrity is saved with the second song “How Can You Really.” Being the first single released from the new album, “How Can You Really” has a cheerful piano which mimics Elton John’s sound despite the lyrics questioning how one person can really love someone.
The stand-out song of “…And Star Power” is definitely track number four, “Cosmic Vibrations.” In classic Foxygen fashion, the song intro features obscure static and unpleasant screams that is abruptly interrupted by a haunting voice that harmonizes with frontman Sam Frances’s voice.
The last minute of this tune is dedicated to a lively beach-rock outro that sounds straight out of the Beach Boys’ 1963 album “Surfin’ U.S.A.”
In the same fashion as Arcade Fire’s “Neighborhood” series, Foxygen dedicated four songs on the album to an entire series called, “Star Power.”
The “Star Power” series varies from lively and lighthearted melodies to ridiculous noise and to a relaxing ballad-like harmony.
“Mattress Warehouse” ends the “Star Power I through IV” series but begins a new era for the album, giving off a joyous vibration that still parallels 60s psychedelic rock. Ending with static, the song becomes bizarre but still enjoyable.
One of the last songs on the 24 song tracklist is “17 Cold Winter/Freedom,” an unruly song of just static noise that easily becomes annoying but for listeners who are patient and stick it through the first three and a half minutes of rubbish noise, the rest of the song is catchy but not great enough to make up for the three and half minutes of garbage.
“666” is a noisy yet subtle song with a distortion effect on Rado’s voice. The distorted vocals give off a noise rock vibe that fits in the same category as California bands FIDLAR or Wavves.
In contrast to the noisy “666” track, “Wally’s Farm” immediately follows and is the perfect instrumental tune listeners will enjoy on spontaneous midnight drives whether it be alone or with a group of their favorite people.
Despite the disappointment of a song that is “17 Cold Winter/Freedom,” overall the album has a feel-good tone that is such a 60s throwback to enjoy for those who wish they were alive at the time.
Karla Rendon can be reached at karla.rendon@laverne.edu.
Correction
In the original version of the story “Foxygen impress with ‘Star Power’” (Oct. 24), Foxygen’s frontman was incorrectly named. Sam France is the lead singer of the group, not Jonathan Rado. The Campus Times regrets the error.
