Foxygen
…And Star Power
JAGJAGUWAR
7/10
After …And Star Power’s introductory electric ramble, rock-and-roll purveyors Foxygen unveil “How Can You Really,” a perfect bit of glam-pop that is almost a Todd Rundgren song from Something/Anything?. What the infamous group lacks is Rundgren’s perfectionism. Which is okay—perfection is overrated. What makes Foxygen’s third album so fascinating is how close they are to falling apart sonically, as if the more delicate songs were one beat away from collapsing into a pile of drumsticks and glitter. Beyond the constructed chaos, they can also write a sweet melody. “You & I” sounds like a hiss-ridden demo from some mid ’70s Stones/Velvet Underground–inspired balladeer. And they walk this line often—piling on the ideas and lapsing in and out of lo-fi psych prankster mode and all-out rock-and-roll gravitas. Sure, it’s an unwieldy big mess at times, but it drags the listener into its own free-form orbit and leaves you kind of slack-jawed at the possibilities.
