Highlights: No Destruction, On The Blue Mountain, San Francisco, Oh
Yeah, Oh No 2
I don’t know whether
this is the corniest title they could think of, but if this was indeed Foxygen’s
aim, then well done to them. Whereas the name of the band’s debut (last year’s
brilliant Take The Kids Off Broadway)
was actually quite effective and witty in a deliciously nonsensical sort of
way, this one just makes the cynic inside me wince uncontrollably. Not that it
should scare anyone away, of course.
As I was listening to
Foxygen’s glorious mess of a debut last year, I kept telling myself that it
would prove nothing more than a successful one-off pastiche. If they were going
to do that all over again, the joke would wear thin no matter how strong the
actual material would be.
Well, I’m relieved to
say – no such problem here. We Are The 21st
Century… is a much more settled down, mellower affair. And even if they do
switch from one melody or groove to another several times in a matter of one
minute (check out “Shuggie”), it still sounds surprisingly cohesive.
Basically, this album is
made up of soulful, gorgeous, flower-pop balladry that still sounds like it was
sung by the 60s Mick Jagger. “No Destruction”, for instance, is such a lazy
Stones-y shuffle (as is “Oh Yeah”) that you could easily mistake it for a
worthy Aftermath outtake. “San Francisco”
is both laidback and incredibly infectious, while the closing epic “Oh No 2” is
psychedelic, 60s-flavoured dream pop at its shimmering best (think of Montreal
without the indulgences). They were clearly going for something more subdued
here, and if the first time won’t seem too overwhelming, then further listens
will certainly help you find some amazing songwriting behind each of these
songs. In fact, the only time where the guys make a point of going off is the
rip-roaring title track that shakes things up towards the very end of the album.
In the end, this album
does lack the killer hooks and spontaneous, off-kilter punch of their debut (one of my
absolute favourites from 2012), but I welcome the small change. They are still
kids having fun, but they are growing, maturing kids having fun.
8/10
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