Foxygen reemerges with flamboyant new record

“Hang” switches psychedelic rock for baroque pop style

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Three years after its last album release, indie group Foxygen is taking the musical community by storm with their colorful, innovative new album, “Hang.”

“Hang” replaces the band’s previous psychedelic, Tame Impala esque style with a forty piece orchestra, collaboration with The Flaming Lips’ Steve Drozd and production from Richard Swift.

The most notable feature of the record is its refusal to conform to a single genre. Many of the tracks on “Hang” surprise the listener by switching the tempo, time signature and even style midway through the song.

The album opens up with its strongest track, “Follow the Leader.” The band’s lead vocalist, Sam France, sings over a string and horn filled instrumental whose style represents that of Electric Light Orchestra.

The second track, “Avalon,” continues this sound until the one and a half minute mark. At this point, the piano drums and bass suddenly change to a quick swing tempo, transforming the song into a jazz track.

“Trauma,” another strength on the album’s tracklist beautifully contradicts its sorrowful lyrics with an upbeat orchestral instrumental and a guitar solo, a rarity on the record.

The record’s quality suffers from its sometimes bizarre sounding vocals. On several songs, lead singer Sam France switches out his mainstream style used on previous albums for a deeper, wobbly vocal style.

The album’s production ignores any norms set by other contemporary music. In terms of mixing, the instrumental is often just as loud, if not louder, than France’s vocals.

“Hang” is yet another masterpiece added to Foxygen’s repertoire and serves as a testament to the group’s unparallelled artistic ability.

“Hang” by Foxygen: 4.5/5