Foxygen - We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic Album Review

'We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic' is the second album from Californian duo Foxygen following on from 2011's 'Take The Kids Off Broadway'. Sam France and Jonathan Rado formed the band in LA in 2005 and have released numerous EPs over the years but WATTFCAOP&M represents what should become their breakthrough record.

Sam and Jonathan are both still in their early twenties but you may be forgiven for thinking they are a little (or a lot) older... Either that or they've been in some cryogenic freezer for some time. Whilst the music they create is totally new, fresh, current and completely their own, it has a certain familiarity to it; a sound you've nearly heard before or a sense of deja vu about it. Foxygen are not so much retro leaning as retro collapsed, plunged, immersed and double dipped.

Whether you're just reading this for confirmation of your own thoughts, to get a different perspective or as a prospective buyer, at some point, depending on your format of choice, you're going to come across a phrase similar to this: 'thank you for buying/listening to Foxygen. Other people who have bought/listened to this have also liked/searched for/bought this' etc., so in an expanded nutshell, here is the 'this'.

They're The Beatles, flower power, Dylan, Jack Kerouac, Hippies, Bowie, psychedelia, Lou Reed, floral prints, 60's, Woodstock, hallucinatory, peace, love, Rolling Stones, trippy, St Pepper, William S Burroughs, Warhol, Velvets, Mama's And Papa's, Barbarella, Pink Floyd, San Fransisco, Hair, pot, Coogan's Bluff, cheese cloth, CND, LSD, Kinks, Easy Rider and 13th Floor Elevators rolled into one completely joyous package (that should tell you all you need to know).

If you fancy stepping in the shoes of Marty McFly, Dr Who, Dr Sam Beckett, Gary Sparrow, Hank Morgan, Henry De Tamble or even Peggy Sue for a bit of recreational time travel then just press play, sit back, suspend reality for a while and enjoy the sounds of 'We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic' by Foxygen.

Andrew Lockwood.