Foxygen delve into the sinister side of their ’60s-aping aesthetic with their latest video, a promo clip for the title track off of this year’s We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic. Directed by William Doyle and filmed in the Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York, the just-released short plays like a terrifying acid trip. Singer Sam France stalks the camera, prowling past gravestones and twitching furiously in his finest paisley shirt. Splotches of tie-dye color bleed over the black-and-white visuals while a strobe effect flickers intermittently. At one point, France’s face starts to melt. Elsewhere, his disembodied head floats through the cemetery, grimacing and griping about consumerism. The whole piece recalls the freaky tunnel scene from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Explore Foxygen’s world of pure imagination by pressing play above.
Meanwhile, the psych-pop posturers have canceled several more tour dates while France recovers from the tumble he took off-stage earlier this summer. Foxygen have nixed 11 upcoming gigs to accommodate the frontman’s fractured tibia and fibula (read: shin and calf bones). As of now, the band’s performance at this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival is still on schedule, as is a pair of New York shows. If anything, the respite should allow for improved “creative health” and provide some breathing room between France and Foxygen co-leader Jonathan Rado, who may or may not have been at each other’s throats earlier this year.
Rado has been busy on his own anyway, what with the recent release of his debut solo album, Law and Order (from which we’ve heard “Faces,” “Hand in Mine,” and “Seven Horses”). Drummer Shaun Fleming has also been developing his own side-project, Diane Coffee. Fleming’s first full-length as Diane Coffee, My Friend Fish, drops October 29 by way of Western Vinyl. For a preview, check out “Tale of a Dead Dog.”
Scroll down to find Foxygen’s tour details.
Canceled Foxygen tour dates:
September 20 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
September 21 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
September 22 – Big Sur, CA @ Woodsist Festival
September 24 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre
September 27 – Champaign, IL @ Pygmalion Festival
September 28 – Cincinnati, OH @ Midpoint Music Festival
September 29 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
October 1 – Toronto, ON @ The Hoxton
October 2 – Montreal, QC @ Cabaret Du Mile End
October 3 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
October 4 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Remaining Foxygen tour dates:
October 6 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
October 13 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
October 21 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
October 22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Willaimsburg
