Foxy Shazam - Foxy Shazam
Rating
RIYL
QueenWorld/Inferno Friendship Society
David Bowie
Little Richard
Release Date
04/13/2010
Label
SireTracklist
1. Intro2. Bombs Away
3. Wanna Be Angel
4. Count Me Out
5. Unstoppable
6. Oh Lord
7. Bye Bye Symphony
8. Second Floor
9. Teenage Demon Baby
10. With An Axe
11. Evil Thoughts
12. Killin’ It
13. Connect Me
14. Some Kind of Love
15. You and Me
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I’ve had quite some difficulty with this review. I’ve been pulled in several different directions, with my opinion constantly changing about not only how I was going to approach the review but fundamentally how I felt about Foxy Shazam itself. My initial impression was to give the thing four stars and be done with it. The melodies leaped out at me, and I was exuberant about already having a year-end top ten list contender. Songs like “Count Me Out” and “Killin’ It” not only begged to be played repeatedly, but to be sung along with at the top of my lungs. However, the more I listened to the disc, the more I began to see some cracks in the foundation. The overt catchiness of some of the tracks began to lose their luster, and some of the songs began to become clear weak spots (the sly, satirical “Wanna Be Angel” being the worst offender). Then, as I became inclined to start docking points, the more subtle elements of the album began to shine through and I would be pulled back in the other direction. The sequencing covered the weak spots perfectly, and the eclecticism of Foxy Shazam became increasingly impressive. For what’s being marketed as a simple pop album by a major label, this thing is definitely going to prove to be divisive.
The record begins with “Intro,” a delightfully cartoonish show tune-esque stomp that segues seamlessly into “Bombs Away,” which rides the band’s new found horn backing (courtesy of recent addition Alex Nauth ), with Sky White’s always solid piano work underpinning the song. “Wanna Be Angel” finds Nally satirizing his sexuality and his public perception, whilst “Count Me Out” is a prime example of the pop powerhouse this band has become. Foxy Shazam goes for the jugular with this one, writing a direct, unapologetically catchy number about the many pitfalls of love. “Unstoppable” finds Foxy doing Queen and “With An Axe” is a New Orleans jazz-tinged track. Elsewhere Foxy Shazam takes on the twisted madness of punk cabaret mavens World/Inferno Friendship Society, experiments with disco beats, creates a pastiche of the doo-wop aesthetic (“Some Kind of Love”), or throws in subtle flourishes of bagpipes or organ.
Most striking about the album is that the outward theatrics of 2008’s Introducing have been dropped in favor of a more refined polish, reigning in the impulses of Eric Nally and channeling them into tighter arrangements. Much of the eccentricity that made Introducing so great have been sacrificed for that Sire Records sheen. Foxy Shazam may not be as fun or weird, but now their many influences shine through on what is really a very coherent disc, and the production values accentuate everything that’s going on in these songs. While Foxy Shazam doesn’t necessarily mark an improvement over Introducing’s freak-funk and soul, it doesn’t have to. The two discs are completely different entities.
I think this album is destined to be one that I’ll always be conflicted about. When you attempt to harness this much elemental force, the creative genius has an undercurrent of instability that threatens to tear the whole thing down, and yet this same instability provides a sense of exhilaration where the listener never knows just where they’re going to be taken next. The fact that Foxy Shazam is able to pull so many different ideas together and focus these creative impulses to make a record that not only makes sense, but in many respects excels, is remarkable. I’m interested to see where they go next.
--Jake Oliver
Comments
Waterloo, Ontario
i really miss the foxy shazam that put out flamingo trigger, i absolutely hated introducing... but i guess i'll check this out just out of boredom.
Top Ten of 2009 http://www.decoymusic.com/users/3747/top_tens/2009
Fishers, Indiana
This album is fucking spectacular, but will do nothing for you if you're still stuck in 05.
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Wollongong, New South Wales
yeah nothing at all like flamingo trigger. i loved that album, and introducing was pretty decent, this thing is just to damn fun though.
Waterloo, Ontario
upon further inspection, this album is pretty great. i guess they just needed one album to completely suck on in order to change gears.
Top Ten of 2009 http://www.decoymusic.com/users/3747/top_tens/2009
Fort Bragg, CA
I love this album so much. I should warn you that based on that review, you don't have the retail copy of the album, though. There aren't too many differences but "Intro" and "Bombs Away" are one song, "Count Me Out" and "Connect Me" are drastically different. Also Teenage Demon Baby and "Some Kind of Love" aren't on it. There may be a few other minor differences that slip my mind. I just figured I should warn you!
Sunshine Coast, Australia
I've only just got my hands on flamingo trigger so I'll give this one a miss just for a while, til I get what the fuck this band is all about, so far though I'm in to it. But that's some of the best artwork I've ever seen.
"If you want something done right, get a fucking Australian band to do it" - Chris Cheney
New York
I have a soft spot in my heart for this band. Their theatrics are wonderfully entertaining. However, I do miss their edge that they seem to have abandoned since Introducing...
"If this is the state of my art,
Then I secede."
Dubuque
I've always enjoyed Foxy Shazam, and this is no exception.
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San Diego, CA
I've since gotten my hands on the retail version and I would probably have rated it about the same. There are aspects I like better than this pre-release version, and there are aspects I like less. The retail version is certainly more polished than even this, which I think is what was going to be Au Contraire before they re-worked some stuff.
Too old to bother, too young to give a shit.