CD Review // Foxygen

Hang (Jajaguwar)

California-based duo Foxygen’s new album Hang is an optimistic start to 2017 in the music world. The album is a circus of unexpected twists and turns giving the listener just enough to hang on to before jerking them into something unfamiliar and out of the ordinary. Hang toes the line between paying homage to 70s rock and satirizing it.

Hang begins with the disco-soul of “Follow The Leader.” The track is more than just a half-baked The Rolling Stones-Mick Jagger copycat. Everything from the groove to vocal delivery sounds exactly like early 70s era Rolling Stones.

“America,” the fourth track on Hang, stands as the most ambitious on the album. With swirling strings, odd time signatures, and operatic vocals, it feels like a the album’s climatic grand opus style proclamation. Foxygen is seemingly able to summon the vocal qualities of any 70s rock icon at any given moment, this time opting for Lou Reed.

Hang’s overly theatrical grandiosity is really what makes it worth the listen. There is still some room for growth, but the California duo is making strides in the right direction.