Foxygen - Cosmic Vibrations

There’s enough going on in Foxygen’s brilliantly deranged new double-album to convince that yes, these guys aren’t the average bunch. They’re not just living out their rock ’n roll fantasies for the hell of it. There’s method and calculation to every move, but that doesn’t mean they’re not getting swept along on their own wave. On ‘Cosmic Vibrations’, more than ever Jonathan Fado and Sam France give the impression of two lost adventurers, taking off in whichever direction the music dictates.

For starters, France sways between his tradition frazzled falsetto, and a newly-acquired baritone that barely made an appearance on 2013 LP ‘We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic’. The song kicks off with thunderous guitar slides and cartoon-like screams, before settling into a glam’ed up message of defeat. “You can have me, but I’m all used up,” claims the frontman, while at the same time sounding more inspired than ever. A double-album is either a sign of pure self-indulgence or an exciting creative streak - for Foxygen, it looks like they’ve found a happy compromise between the two.