It’s difficult to imagine a vinyl aficionado who wouldn’t enjoy receiving a free 45. Even if the wax is laced with lameness, one loses no shekels in the transaction. Folks residing near Portland, OR and downtown Los Angeles who are especially excited by the possibility of gratis grooves should mosey to the flagship stores of Tanner Goods on July 25 at 11am, for the company specializing in high quality leather products has teamed with Pickathon music festival and Aquarium Drunkard audio blog to press 200 copies of a 45 featuring a pair of live cuts from last year’s Pickathon show by LA-based duo Foxygen. Lameness is assuredly absent from the equation and the first 50 come with a custom-embossed leather outer sleeve.
It may seem like nitpicking, but giveaways are rarely actually that. Y’know, to get the free flexi-disc one had to shell out, or worse yet, convince one’s parent or guardian to drop dollars on that box of sugary cereal. The situation lingered with age; obtaining the Devo/Colin Newman “Bush Whacked” b/w “Si Tu Attends” split flexi required purchase of the August 1988 issue of Reflex magazine.
All this talk of soundsheets doesn’t apply to the matter at hand, for Tanner Goods’ Foxygen 45 is a 150gm pressing, and landing a copy simply necessitates visiting the abovementioned shops while supplies last. Cynics might be rubbing chin stubble and wondering what the angle is; indeed, to partake in an endeavor for the sheer hell of it may be something of a rarity these days, and if the existence of this record doesn’t fit that description exactly, it is a fine example of commerce fostering a pursuit other than the bottom line.
It falls in place with Tanner Goods’ dedication to craftsmanship and extends to the good rep of Pickathon, an event unwinding annually on Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, OR. Now this writer will confess to kneejerk dubiousness upon hearing or reading a description of a multiday music fest as anything other than an audience endurance test and stimulus for the bottled water industry, but it’s hard not to be swayed by the background of Pickathon.
Sensibly scaled and progressively run with a variety of performance venues and an enduring objective to eradicate the hassles of the typical festival experience, maybe the best argument in Pickathon’s favor is the strength and diversity of its lineup; 2015’s shindig occurs July 31 to August 2 with Alice Gerrard, Cloud Nothings, Dom Flemons, Ernest Ranglin, Ex Hex, Freakwater, Giant Sand, JD McPherson, Kamasi Washington, King Tuff, Leon Bridges, Shabazz Palaces, Tinariwen, tUnE-yArDs, Ty Segall, William Tyler, Riley Walker and a whole bunch more.
Run by Justin Gage, Aquarium Drunkard is a true beacon in the musical blogosphere. Contrasting with sites on the web that are ceaselessly jockeying to debut the latest flash in the pan, Aquarium Drunkard’s goal is admirably basic; disseminating knowledge on important sounds old and new. One could easily spend a series of evenings digging through its archives.
The duo Foxygen consists of Sam France and Jonathan Rado. A partnership dwelling betwixt a psych rock and an experimental place, they’ve been extant since the mid part of last decade. As teenagers they recorded a 30 track album Jurrasic Explosion Phillipic in 2007, but after hooking up with the Jagjaguwar label in 2012 Take the Kids Off Broadway raised their profile considerably.
We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic emerged in ’13. Remaining Foxygen’s biggest success, it’s far from the pair’s most expansive undertaking; that distinction belongs to last year’s somewhat divisive …And Star Power, an 82 minute set containing the studio versions of the two tracks corralled on this 45.
It’s interesting to note the 7-inch format as underutilized in the annals of public musical performance. Naturally there are exceptions including numerous bootlegs, but the history of live recordings is dominated by long-players. By the ‘70s the tendency was partially indicative of rock ‘n’ roll excess and the sprawl of artistic vanity.
Sometimes those descriptors are interchangeable with bold ambition; as said, perspectives differ as to whether …And Star Power is visionary or merely excessive. Frankly, the most sensible position is to assess it as a combination of both. However, the canvas of Foxygen’s latest, roughly the length of a feature film, more closely resembles the ultra-long durations of ‘90s compact discs rather than the “we earned it, man” grandiosity of the ‘70s double albums. Given the impact of the ‘70s on Foxygen’s output this is mighty impressive.
Furthermore, it’s perhaps a little ironic that the initial live extension of the act’s longest, grandest record is represented by Tanner Goods’ tidy 45. “Brooklyn Police Station” serves as the A-side, the vibe of uptempo ‘60s garage rock diverting into a more purely psychedelic midsection before revving back up for the finale. It enjoyably amplifies Foxygen’s accessibility factor, but the downer glam with ‘70s proto-punk fringe of “Cosmic Vibrations” strikes these ears as the 45’s stronger showing.
As anyone who’s been knocked sideways by a live gig can attest, recorded documentation is frequently a meager substitute for the full happening, particularly when reckless physical motion is an aspect of the dynamic. It’s a scenario certainly applying to Foxygen’s antic sets; this vibrantly captured disc can’t replicate broken limbs but it does make a strong case for the duo’s talent from Pickathon’s Barn Stage.
For those in attendance that evening, the above 7-inch should serve as a truly handy souvenir. For somebody sauntering into Tanner Goods this Saturday intent on buying a wallet, it just might provide the doorway into a work of a highly worthwhile contemporary unit.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
