We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace And Magic (studio album) by Foxygen

This album is smothered in 60's influences, mainly from the psychedelic genre. The main influences I see are The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, T.Rex and The Velvet Underground. They do take a lot of their sound from these groups and at times it does work perfectly together like on the tracks On Blue Mountain and Shuggie. The catchy melodies and great performances really keep you engaged with the music and there is really quite a lot of quality on display. There are a few songs which are a little weaker but most tracks are infectious and suck you into the record. It can sound a little too clean at times with the production and so can sound a bit alien to the raw 60's psychedelic production that we are used to. It could do with being a bit rougher so you could properly get into the tracks that are inspired by the VU. Overall, a harmless record that pays homage to a fantastic genre and era of music and they do it in style but would be better if the album was a bit more unique to them as a group.

From Brandon8 04/17/2021 04:21

My favorite album of the 2010s they do a great interpretation of late 60’s early 70’s psychedelic rock which takes on a life of its own apart from the influences.

this band tried to sound like the velvet undergound......

Ridiculously good psych rock pastiches. The shameless pilfering is in good fun and they mash things up in clever ways. Village Green meets Mammas and Pappas? Check. Mr Big Stuff meets You Can't Always get what your want? Check. The Doors meets the Velvets? You betcha. It's a funny album, but the strength of melody and musicianship actually make this one of the best albums of the last decade.

From Charade 04/21/2019 03:09

Yeah, it wears its influences on its sleeve. So what? It's a phenomenal album. I hear the Velvet Underground, T Rex, a little bit of Love, but who cares? This was a really enjoyable listen for me and it'll probably end up on my chart at some point.

A really modern reinterpretation of White Light/White Heat without the shocking content. At least, that's what first came to mind. It's enjoyable, but I definitely think it's overrated for what it is.

From Brad1770 12/07/2017 11:17

I got into Foxygen with 2017's 'Hang' which was very very close to my best album for that year

This album is similarly pretty awesome confirming Foxygen are making some the most interesting music today

Musically its got a real 60's vibe with contemporary sty-lings , lyrically its all over the place in the most fun way

Really excellent stuff

70 Big Fat Joints Out Of 100

Best Tracks: No Destruction, Shuggie, San Francisco

Favorite Tracks: Shuggie, On Blue Mountain & Oh Yeah

From Mattdup279 10/19/2016 01:08

It's a fun listen, but there is nothing special here. It's a new spin on the Kinks and the Rolling Stones.