How do you criticize art?
Critique it sure, but to lambast someone’s creation is a tricky task in music journalism. There is no scientific method to adhere to, just personal opinion, and let’s be honest, what does a reviewer really know any way, right? Though it seems like all music insiders love Foxygen’s second album, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic, I find myself yet again being an outsider of popular opinion. Believe me, I tried to understand this album. Really I did. Yet no matter how many listens it never got any better. I’ve fully digested it and the constrictiveness has given me cramps.
We Are starts off promising with an alluring Beatles-esque drum beat and bassline on ‘In The Darkness’, but the enthusiasm is short-lived once Sam France begins to sing. Honestly, I would enjoy this band much more if they were solely instrumental. France slightly redeems himself on ‘No Destruction’ with the clever line: “There’s no need to be an asshole you’re not in Brooklyn anymore”. Too bad it’s sung in a bootleg Dylan voice. Hmmm, maybe I am an asshole.
Elvis’ ‘Suspicious Minds’, Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘Everyday People’ and Dusty Springfield’s ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ are the next victims of Foxygen’s theft (I mean musical influences) with the song ‘On Blue Mountain’. It’s possible for an artist to pull from influences without saturating the album with them. Much like a student who’s littered the majority of their research paper with quotes and sources, there is little original insight on this record. Hopefully as Foxygen continues to create, they will find their own voice and not feel the need to lean on their predecessors for structure and guidance.
Despite the slightly abrasive musical transitions, ‘Shuggie’ is perhaps the most enjoyable and well-crafted track thanks in part to the drummer once again. As their sound evolves here’s hoping their song-writing matures as well because we’re not working with much with lyrics such as: “And you can chew on gum if it makes you have fun/And you can drink green soup on your way from the kitchen/My roller skates are bitchin” (please tell me I didn’t hear that correctly).
‘Oh No 2’ is a perfectly placed album closer reminiscent of Bowie’s ‘Slip Away’. However unlike other songs on We Are, this did the most effective job blending influence with Foxygen’s own style. Unfortunately, just when I thought the record was on it’s way to a peaceful resolve; they had to disrupt the flow by throwing in a cheesy vaudevillian Muse/Matthew Bellamy sounding sequence. It was like drinking orange juice after brushing my teeth. It served no purpose and left a bad taste in my mouth.
Lackluster creativity, mediocre lyrics, and squeamish lo-fi recording tactics make We Are quite forgettable. It’s not an album that grows on you once you sit with it. Trust me. I tried. One listen is all you’ll need.
RATING: “One And Done”
Laura Sisul can be reached at misssisul@gmail.com.