...And Star Power (studio album) by Foxygen

Best Tracks: Everyone Needs Love, Flowers

From flamingyesdept 01/23/2017 20:13

Heavily influenced by Todd Rundgren, nearly as brilliant, just as underrated and even more haphazard, And Star Power is a terrific 70s throwback that's more than a pastiche but a bona fide brilliant set of experimental pop tunes.

A lot of critics, music lovers in general didn't get this album. Some people hated it, some loved it. Most where dissapointed - therefor it didn't get alot of hype and popularity.
The listeners who didn't like it saw it as a serious deep lo-fi album that turned into an experimental psychotic comedy rock circus.
To me personally, it's a fucking masterpiece.
Star Power got it all. They got the 70's retro throwback plastic soul theme, chaos. Good tunes all over, impossible to get bored listening to it. Is it a mess? Yes, it's a bloody mess.
Do you like mess? No? You don't like The Beatles White Album's lazy setlist? No Frank Zappa We're only in it for the money? Exile on Main Street?
Stop underrating this album, think it trough and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.
It's fucking STAR POWER!

From SamuelPear 03/12/2015 15:26

Never liked their first LP, but I've got to say I kinda enjoy this one. It's not a really solid record but even though "How could you really" and "Star Power IV: Ooh Ooh" are Todd Rundgren rip offs, these songs and "Coulda been my love" "Everybody needs love" are worth listening the record.

"We Are ..." was the hell of an album, with a great pop producer firmly installed in its seat. Now they decide to produce a 24 2CDs album themselves, with mixed results.

On Disc 1 (the 1st 16 songs) they look at "A Wizard, A True Star", the Todd Rundgren (the hell of a producer as well) album dd. '74. Really great, but they don't mind to finish the songs.

On disc 2, we hear circa 66 garage jams, with some nods to Big Star (their 3rd LP). But they don't mind to begin to have a song there.

Summary : throw disc 2 and you have great ideas for a great album.

The first half is good enough. The third part, listenable. The fourth is an "experimental" failure. It doesn't really qualify as experimental if Syd Barrett and John Lennon already made it, though. Still lots of Stones callouts too.

From covecove 10/23/2014 03:41

Probably the boldest statement made in music since Kid A, these guys just mixed every conceivable concept in a 2 cd set and created one of the most amazing jouneys ever to anyone willing to risk it. Of course it's messy at some points but the confidence with which it is executed and how fantastically it flows makes it worth the ride. The array of influences it transpire from the Velvets to the Beasties' Ill Comunication, Miles Davis' early 70s gems and the core psychodellic sound which has become its trademark all combine perfectly without loosing an ounce of originality and all of these, despite not having a track that stands clearly from the rest as the album works better as a whole experience from start to finish. Star Power is one of those albums in the vein of Trout Mask Replica that will polarize listeners but will not create indeference at any point. If there is justice in the world, 20 years from now this album will be hailed as a masterpiece and an influential recording for generations to come. Not bad for a band that sounded as a weak Tame Impala barely a year ago...

From babyBlueSedan 10/21/2014 01:52

We Are the 21st... was the perfect blend of whimsical psychedelic rock and pop. This is a complete mess. Which is normally something I like, but messes should either be short (Bee Thousand, Meat Puppets II) or contain some truly great songs (the White Album, Mellon Collie). This fits neither category. Coulda Been My Love and Cosmic Vibrations are good songs, but after that it devolves into something that is long and experimental for the sake of being long and experimental.

A risk that pays off spectacularly, for the most part.

From HoldenM 10/14/2014 22:12

Having listened to this a few times, I'm in love with this album. It is difficult, and it seems chaotic, but it starts to come together around the third and fourth listens. It's pure psychedelia experimentation, which probably explains why that got a bunch of artists who make the same prone-to-weirdness music to help on this album. They throw what sticks, and most of it lands well. There's a lot to dig through, but it really is a fantastic album.