In what may or may not be the swan song for Foxygen, the indie duo has released a nine-track collection of tightly crafted pop songs. Seeing Other People is the most accessible Foxygen album, especially coming on the heels of the chaotic double album …And Star Power (2014) and the theatrical bombast of Hang (2017).
Always rumored to be breaking up, Foxygen titled its sixth LP Seeing Other People as a way to say goodbye to the parts of being a band that won’t be missed. Vocalist Sam France describes it as “our adult contemporary album,” and it definitely has that flavor. It is missing the eccentricity of the band’s previous work, an eccentricity that has produced some of the band’s best moments but also some of its worst. Without that element of experimentation, Seeing Other People focuses on psychedelic grooves and catchy melodies, delivering retro pop-rock that is consistently good but never spectacular.
“Work” opens the album in a highly danceable fashion, with multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Rado laying down a bouncing bassline and rhythmic piano. “You want me to write your soul but I’m just not working right now,” France sings over electronic flourishes and a driving drum beat. “Mona” and “The Thing Is” also show Foxygen reveling in infectious propulsive beats.
Lead single “Livin’ a Lie” tells of a band that is weary of touring, performing, and those who try to cash in on a band’s success. “How does it feel to be living a lie?” France asks in the chorus. “And you know you never cared about no one.” The swirling string section in the anthemic chorus gives way to a soft, sparse bridge as France sings, “Now you’re going all over the globe and you’re ripping off my act and my show.”
“Face the Facts” is the most eccentric song on the album, combining dynamic shifts with infectious rhythms on a tale of putting dreams of rock stardom in the past. “You better face the facts; you’re never gonna be a famous rock ‘n’ roller now that it’s over,” France sings, his lament contrasting Rado’s standout rhythm section. In the second verse, France sings about never being cool enough as a frontman. “I’m never gonna dance like James Brown; I’m never gonna be black,” he sings, his statement punctuated by Rado rickrolling the listeners at a few points in the song, referencing Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” on synthesizer, one of the whitest and least cool pop songs in history.
The album, and possibly the Foxygen canon, ends with “The Conclusion,” a thumping funk song that captures the funk hooks, the retro vibe, and the psychedelic tones of the band. “I’ve come to the conclusion that we should just be friends,” France croons amid wah-pedal rhythms.
Seeing Other People is the most recent last-ever Foxygen album. If it is truly the band’s last album, it’s a high note to end on. Though it lacks some of the standout avant-garde moments of the band’s earlier work, it also eschews the messy missteps that had popped up from time to time. Seeing Other People is also the most focused and controlled Foxygen album and its intricate melodies and infinite hooks will be remembered long after the band is no more, whether France and Rado realize it or not.
