Foxygen’s devotion to 60s rock knows no bounds. Along with adopting all of those paisley clothes and groovy organ sounds, the polarizing psych-pop duo even conforms to the era’s compressed sense of time. Similar to how the Beatles and the Rolling Stones released new albums every six months, and went through full-scale musical transformations pretty much every other year, Foxygen has already endured a career’s worth of ups and downs since the release of 2012’s Take the Kids Off Broadway EP. There was the acclaimed full-length debut We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic, a series of tumultuous tours, rumors of intra-band strife, a wacky appearance at the Pitchfork Music Festival, and now Law & Order, the solo debut from the “quiet” half of the band, Jonathan Rado. As if that wasn’t enough activity, Rado is already working on his second solo LP, even as Foxygen’s handlers insist that the group isn’t falling apart. It might be a good idea to keep eyes peeled on L.A.-area rooftops for an impromptu farewell concert, just in case.
No matter what lies ahead in Foxygen’s future, Law & Order suggests that Rado is fully prepared to make Foxygen records on his own. As a singer, he’s not as dynamic as Sam France, whose ability to ape various 60s icons-- Jagger, Lennon, and Barrett are his main touchstones-- adds extra authenticity to the group’s studious genre exercises. Rado’s vocals, meanwhile, are serviceable though not exactly essential, which might explain why he often buries them in effects (like on the demented late-night soul ballad “Looking 4a Girl Like U”) and abrasive guitar fuzz (on the clanking garage-rocker “I Wood”), or removes them completely (on the swinging Booker T. and the MGs homage “Dance Away Your Ego”).
Rado didn’t set out to make a record as pristine as We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors; Law & Order is a homemade grab-bag of jams and rough-cut gems that sounds like it was hashed out in a matter of days. It’s basically Rado's version of McCartney, which is one among approximately 83 classic-rock references on Law & Order smothered in the requisite air quotes.
Rado might be derivative, but at least there’s an admirable consistency to his prodigious output. Studying the masters has taught him how to put together catchy songs seemingly at will. The best tracks on Law & Order are frontloaded: The album-opening “Seven Horses” blobs along on a trippy groove that’s surprisingly funky, and “Hand in Mine” is an enjoyable callback to the sexy camp of those old Lee Hazelwood/Nancy Sinatra duets. Things get weirder in the album’s second half-- “I Wanna Feel It Now!!!” recalls the thrilling cacophony of Broadway-- but the glitchy closer “Pot of Gold” is Rado’s most focused pop song yet. He even indulges in a slick yacht-rock guitar solo-- is this a sign that he’s moving on to the 70s, as all 60s heroes must eventually do? Knowing Rado, the wait won’t be long to find out.
