It almost doesn’t seem possible that the band Foxygen is from this generation of music. It’s a combo of genres, really—a sassy mix of ’60s rock and roll and breathy flower child tunes and experimental pop, and yet it’s still something else. Their sound is dreamy and sunny, quirky in places and catchy in others, and there’s also something sexual about it in a Mick Jagger sort of way. Songs like “San Francisco” and “Shuggie” off the band’s second album We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic are a prime showcase of the band’s experimental sound. If driving with the windows down in an old-school convertible on a sunny California highway could be captured via song it would definitely be those tracks.
Sam France and Jonathan Rado first met in high school, later signed with Jagjaguwar Records (the label behind artists like Bon Iver and Dinosaur Jr.) and have sort of been unstoppable since then (even through their rumored breakup that had to do with Jonathan’s girlfriend at the time). And their stage presence is a wild one, theatrical and entertaining, with a splash of glam and flamboyancy, proving that nothing is too much—just like the 24 tracks that make up their third album …And Star Power, as well as the full orchestra they have playing on their upcoming album Hang due out in January.
Foxygen has already sold out Rough Trade in Williamsburg (playing early December), so make sure to snatch tickets for their Terminal 5 show where there will be plenty more space to swoon and dance around like it’s 1960-something. With Foxygen, there really isn’t another choice but to sing and dance, anyway.
Terminal 5
3/24
Doors @ 7 p.m.
$25
axs.com