The LA-based group, Foxygen, comprising of Sam France and Jonathan Rado have long been considered in a league of their own when it comes to their eclectic output as a group. Their previous two albums, 2013’s We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic and 2014’s …And Star Power established them as wacky innovators of psychedelia but similarly compelling songwriters.

Their debut quickly attracted widespread acclaim and attention from everybody with a set of ears and their sophomore confirmed why such interest existed in the first place. The issue with their second effort was that it felt scatty and, at 24 tracks long, you can see why. Their ideas are at times fantastic but at other times, too hard to get your head around – the peaks were matched equally by the troughs. It was a concept album based loosely around a fictional band called Star Power and the band promised to crash out of music shortly after.

The duo push themselves further than before on Hang for better or for worse. Each track on the album is recorded with a forty-plus-piece symphony orchestra arranged and constructed by Trey Pollard and Matthew E. White, the outcome often walking the line of spectacular and ridiculous. Opener, ‘Follow the Leader’ is a joyful introduction to the record – oozing brass sections throw you spinning into the chaos before Rado croons: “Hey baby, you know it’s true / I’m in love with you”. Rado’s voice carries alluring tones of Mick Jagger, it growls and grates upon a carefully coordinated sea of strings, horns and percussion.

‘Avalon’ is fitting for a 50s musical, it swings into a waltz before beckoning upon doo-wop vocals of the time. It exaggerates the point that Rado and France are two of the most experimental songwriters currently operating within music. They fluidly change time signatures, genre and tone – at times feeling solemn, they quickly change pace and throw you down the rabbit hole into an unconventional world of psychedelia. As seen on their early tracks such as ‘Teenage Alien Blues’, the pair are reluctant to follow standard song conventions, opting to break every unwritten rule until they eventually begin fracturing their own.

The album itself is still a hard pill to swallow, to attempt to get your head around it on the first ten listens is a nightmare in itself. It throws you left, right and dumps you on your backside so often. The songs loosely relate to each other, merely tying themselves through the same glam-rock, pseudo-Freddie Mercury pastiche. ‘Mrs Adams’ takes time but the jarring introduction does grow on you eventually. ‘America’ feels like an entire story in itself, it opens with the same unease you’d expect in a Clint Eastwood film before introducing you to the frantic racing of the forty-piece orchestra.

‘On Lankershim’ feels slightly easier to understand, it feels less chaotic and slightly more manageable. It’s the first track you reach that carries a slightly more concise melody and in doing so, would appeal slightly more to the casual listener. ‘Upon A Hill’ suffers from severe schizophrenia though, Rado riddles over the top of a song that can’t decide whether it’s relaxed or playing the part of a Disney theme.

Unfortunately, by ‘Trauma’ you grow slightly worn down by the album. It moves and dances the same as the rest but you never really feel like you’ve found a song to catch onto – as an album it fails slightly where the other two succeeded in regards to the fact it doesn’t have a standout single. There is no point of reference or song that sticks because they are all so colourful and outlandish. ‘Rise Up’ is the closest we get to our answer, it carries forward the slightly infantile undertones but at least it holds some form of logical song structure.

There’s no doubting that Hang is an album for true fans of the band, it’s not a simple piece to get your head around whatsoever. In the album’s press release, the band state that there are “lyrical scenarios we don't quite understand” – this statement in itself about summarises the album. It’s a brave step though, it does something that contemporary music is often so scared to do and that is simply to stand out. It’ll fall on a knife edge though amongst listeners, you’ll either adore it or loathe it, never expect something normal from this pair though.
Tom Churchill

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