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Foxygen is an American
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
duo from
Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County, California, on its western border with Ventura County. Upon its incorporation in 1981, Westlake Village became the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks We ...
, formed in 2005. The band consists of multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Rado and vocalist Sam France. They have released six albums and a number of self-released EPs.


History

Rado and France started their band in high school when both were fourteen. After their formation in 2005, the band played experimental music; influenced by psychedelia and avant-garde. Their early music won them first place in Agoura High School's Battle of the Bands. They self-released four EPs between 2007 and 2011. In early 2011, they were 'discovered' by producer Richard Swift after handing him one of their EPs at a The Mynabirds show in New York. The group were later signed on to Jagjaguwar Records and their first studio album, '' Take the Kids Off Broadway'', was released by
Jagjaguwar Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. History In 1996, in Charlottesville, Virginia, University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public resear ...
on July 24, 2012. On January 22, 2013, Jagjaguwar released Foxygen's second album, '' We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic''. This album was produced by Richard Swift and recorded at his National Freedom studio. The record was preceded by the single "Shuggie," released on October 4, 2012. The album charted with Billboard as did their follow-up, “…And Star Power.” In March 2013, Foxygen was named one of
Fuse TV Fuse is an American television channel owned by Fuse Media, LLC, that was originally launched in 1994 as MuchMusic USA, a localized version of the Canadian cable channel MuchMusic, owned by CHUM Limited which was also the parent company of City ...
's 30 must-see artists at
SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
. In 2019, ''We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic'' came at no.11 on ''Happy Mag'''s list of "The 25 best psychedelic rock albums of the 2010s". TThe band released their fourth LP, the theatrical ''Hang'', on January 20, 2017, via Jagjaguwar. The album features collaborations with The Lemon Twigs,
the Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...
'
Steven Drozd Steven Gregory Drozd (born June 11, 1969) is an American musician. He is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter for the Flaming Lips, Electric Würms, and other projects. Early life Drozd was born in Houston, Texas, and grew up in Ri ...
and a 40+ piece orchestra arranged by Trey Pollard and Matthew E White. ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' said of the album: “Theatrical is an apt description of this collection as a whole," while noting that the album "edges perilously close to pastiche". The new album was admittedly referred to as a concept album by Sam France and Jonathan Rado themselves. The duo expressed their hope to create an album characterized by rock music mixing with the Hollywood style musical at the 30s. Allegedly, '' Hang'' is their first ever album to be recorded in a studio, prior to this their albums and songs written were all conducted at home. The duo also see the characters on the album as a continuation of their previous records. In February 2019, they announced an April 26 release of a new album, ''Seeing Other People'', via Jagjaguwar. The lead single is called "Livin’ A Lie". On August 30, 2022, the band suggested on their Instagram page that they had broken up. Since then, Rado has spoken about the band as still ongoing. On December 19, 2023, Foxygen performed a brief reunion show at Zebulon in Los Angeles. On April 13, 2023, the band was featured on the song "There Is This Thing" by Reginald Chapman.


Critical reception

The ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' staff wrote, "We just can't stop playing the scruffy psych-rock duo's
Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
-obsessed album with the appropriately exuberant title '' We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic''." In January 2013, ''Pitchfork'' cited Foxygen under "Best New Music" in their review of the new album. Their 2014 album, the
Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...
-influenced '' ...And Star Power'' received decidedly mixed reviews. While '' Paste'' praised it as "indulgent, unhinged, sprawling, funny and sometimes spookily great," and ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
'' called it a "dense and rewarding listen," Hal Horowitz at ''
American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...
'' called it "an occasionally interesting failed experiment."


Discography

;Studio albums *'' Jurrassic Exxplosion Phillipic'' (2007) *'' Take the Kids Off Broadway'' (2011) *'' We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic'' (2013) *'' ...And Star Power'' (2014) *'' Hang'' (2017) *'' Seeing Other People'' (2019)


References


External links

* {{Authority control Musical duos from California Indie rock musical groups from California Musical groups established in 2005 2005 establishments in California Jagjaguwar artists