Qobuz Store wallpaper
Categories:
Cart 0

Your cart is empty

Foxygen|We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic

We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic

Foxygen

Digital booklet

Available in
16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo

Unlimited Streaming

Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps

Start my trial period and start listening to this album

Enjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription

Subscribe

Enjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription

Digital Download

Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.

With their album-length 2012 EP Take the Kids Off Broadway, backwards-looking concept rockers Foxygen arrived with so many classic rock reference points you could have made a bingo card out of the various nods to various heroes contained in their still somehow undeniably hooky songs. Proper full-length We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic is even more stuffed full of familiar sound cues and convincing '60s and '70s pop star mimicry, this time with heightened production from Richard Swift taking the album out of the lo-fi realm, and more personal lyrics adding some character to the artifice. Picking apart the blatant, intentional references to different classic songs that cycle verse-to-verse throughout the album is a fun game for record collector types; from the nod to the intro of Sgt. Pepper's on album-opener "In the Darkness" to the bold-faced Dylanisms (and less overt but equally strong Al Stewart-isms) of the incredible, big city lament "No Destruction." Bowie, Lou Reed, all eras of Mick Jagger, specific doo wop songs, and even moments of the Band; no oldies are safe from Foxygen's pure-hearted appropriation. Their reconstructive surgery of various influences is an interesting approach for a band made up of kids in their early twenties circa 2013, but it isn't the entire formula for what makes this record so great. Lots of bands before Foxygen have dealt with quick changes and sonic patchworks of older influences, but few have managed to craft songs as moving and catchy as these. The thick accents and psychedelic swirl of "San Francisco" walk the line of being patronizingly nostalgic until the hook-heavy chorus comes in, distant guest vocals from Jessie Baylin and Sarah Versprille answering singer Sam France's "I left my love in San Francisco" with refrains of "That's okay, I was bored anyway" and "That's okay, I was born in L.A." This one move disarms any cloying elements of the song and reminds the listener that Foxygen are in complete songwriting control, not just throwing back-dated pop culture references at the wall and hoping something sticks. In their earliest days, Of Montreal had a similar knack for updating their favorite records with their own personalities, as did many artists of the Elephant 6 collective, but WAT21CAOPAM is more tuned in, clear-headed, and full of intent than any of Foxygen's more immediate predecessors. It's a gorgeous and non-stop convergence of ideas, some borrowed, some original, some refurbished, and some outright stolen. In the end, however, the album's coherence comes in its incredible architecture of all these ideas, and the way the band sells them with everything they've got, taking what could be incredibly obtuse music back into the realm of pop from which it was born.

© Fred Thomas /TiVo

More info

We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic

Foxygen

launch qobuz app I already downloaded Qobuz for Windows / MacOS Open

download qobuz app I have not downloaded Qobuz for Windows / MacOS yet Download the Qobuz app

You are currently listening to samples.

Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.

Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.

From £10.83/month

1
In the Darkness
00:02:01

Richard Swift, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Foxygen, MainArtist - Sam France, AssociatedPerformer - Jonathan Rado, AssociatedPerformer - Breakfast Horse Music, MusicPublisher

2013 Jagjaguwar 2013 Jagjaguwar

2
No Destruction
00:04:56

Richard Swift, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Foxygen, MainArtist - Sam France, AssociatedPerformer - Jonathan Rado, AssociatedPerformer - Breakfast Horse Music, MusicPublisher - Luke Suzomoto, AssociatedPerformer

2013 Jagjaguwar 2013 Jagjaguwar

3
On Blue Mountain
00:05:50

Richard Swift, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Foxygen, MainArtist - Sam France, AssociatedPerformer - Jonathan Rado, AssociatedPerformer - Breakfast Horse Music, MusicPublisher - Luke Suzomoto, AssociatedPerformer

2013 Jagjaguwar 2013 Jagjaguwar

4
San Francisco
00:03:47

Richard Swift, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Foxygen, MainArtist - Sam France, AssociatedPerformer - Jonathan Rado, AssociatedPerformer - Breakfast Horse Music, MusicPublisher - Luke Suzomoto, AssociatedPerformer

2013 Jagjaguwar 2013 Jagjaguwar

5
Bowling Trophies
00:01:47

Richard Swift, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Foxygen, MainArtist - Sam France, AssociatedPerformer - Jonathan Rado, AssociatedPerformer - Breakfast Horse Music, MusicPublisher - Luke Suzomoto, AssociatedPerformer

2013 Jagjaguwar 2013 Jagjaguwar

6
Shuggie
00:03:21

Richard Swift, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Foxygen, MainArtist - Sam France, AssociatedPerformer - Jonathan Rado, AssociatedPerformer - Breakfast Horse Music, MusicPublisher - Luke Suzomoto, AssociatedPerformer

2013 Jagjaguwar 2013 Jagjaguwar

7
Oh Yeah
00:05:16

Richard Swift, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Foxygen, MainArtist - Sam France, AssociatedPerformer - Jonathan Rado, AssociatedPerformer - Breakfast Horse Music, MusicPublisher - Luke Suzomoto, AssociatedPerformer

2013 Jagjaguwar 2013 Jagjaguwar

8
We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic
00:04:27

Richard Swift, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Foxygen, MainArtist - Sam France, AssociatedPerformer - Jonathan Rado, AssociatedPerformer - Breakfast Horse Music, MusicPublisher - Luke Suzomoto, AssociatedPerformer

2013 Jagjaguwar 2013 Jagjaguwar

9
Oh No
00:05:21

Richard Swift, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Foxygen, MainArtist - Sam France, AssociatedPerformer - Jonathan Rado, AssociatedPerformer - Breakfast Horse Music, MusicPublisher - Luke Suzomoto, AssociatedPerformer

2013 Jagjaguwar 2013 Jagjaguwar

Album review

With their album-length 2012 EP Take the Kids Off Broadway, backwards-looking concept rockers Foxygen arrived with so many classic rock reference points you could have made a bingo card out of the various nods to various heroes contained in their still somehow undeniably hooky songs. Proper full-length We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic is even more stuffed full of familiar sound cues and convincing '60s and '70s pop star mimicry, this time with heightened production from Richard Swift taking the album out of the lo-fi realm, and more personal lyrics adding some character to the artifice. Picking apart the blatant, intentional references to different classic songs that cycle verse-to-verse throughout the album is a fun game for record collector types; from the nod to the intro of Sgt. Pepper's on album-opener "In the Darkness" to the bold-faced Dylanisms (and less overt but equally strong Al Stewart-isms) of the incredible, big city lament "No Destruction." Bowie, Lou Reed, all eras of Mick Jagger, specific doo wop songs, and even moments of the Band; no oldies are safe from Foxygen's pure-hearted appropriation. Their reconstructive surgery of various influences is an interesting approach for a band made up of kids in their early twenties circa 2013, but it isn't the entire formula for what makes this record so great. Lots of bands before Foxygen have dealt with quick changes and sonic patchworks of older influences, but few have managed to craft songs as moving and catchy as these. The thick accents and psychedelic swirl of "San Francisco" walk the line of being patronizingly nostalgic until the hook-heavy chorus comes in, distant guest vocals from Jessie Baylin and Sarah Versprille answering singer Sam France's "I left my love in San Francisco" with refrains of "That's okay, I was bored anyway" and "That's okay, I was born in L.A." This one move disarms any cloying elements of the song and reminds the listener that Foxygen are in complete songwriting control, not just throwing back-dated pop culture references at the wall and hoping something sticks. In their earliest days, Of Montreal had a similar knack for updating their favorite records with their own personalities, as did many artists of the Elephant 6 collective, but WAT21CAOPAM is more tuned in, clear-headed, and full of intent than any of Foxygen's more immediate predecessors. It's a gorgeous and non-stop convergence of ideas, some borrowed, some original, some refurbished, and some outright stolen. In the end, however, the album's coherence comes in its incredible architecture of all these ideas, and the way the band sells them with everything they've got, taking what could be incredibly obtuse music back into the realm of pop from which it was born.

© Fred Thomas /TiVo

About the album

Distinctions:

Improve album information

Qobuz logo Why buy on Qobuz...

On sale now...

Money For Nothing

Dire Straits

Money For Nothing Dire Straits

The Studio Albums 2009 – 2018

Mark Knopfler

Brothers In Arms

Dire Straits

Brothers In Arms Dire Straits

Live 1978 - 1992

Dire Straits

Live 1978 - 1992 Dire Straits
More on Qobuz
By Foxygen

Hang

Foxygen

Hang Foxygen

Hang

Foxygen

Hang Foxygen

Work

Foxygen

Work Foxygen

Seeing Other People

Foxygen

How Can You Really

Foxygen

You may also like...

Wall Of Eyes

The Smile

Wall Of Eyes The Smile

Born To Die

Lana Del Rey

Born To Die Lana Del Rey

In Times New Roman...

Queens Of The Stone Age

In Times New Roman... Queens Of The Stone Age

Ohio Players

The Black Keys

Ohio Players The Black Keys

WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?

Billie Eilish