Foxygen, the bi-coastal songwriting duo of Sam France and Jonathan Rado, will play at The Cellar Door in Downtown Visalia on Friday, August 8. France, a 22-year-old vocalist is from Olympia, Washington, and Rado, also 22, is a guitarist and keyboardist from New York City.
Together they are the raw, de-Wes Andersonization of The Rolling Stones, Kinks, Velvets, Bowie, etc., that a whole mess of young people desperately need. They create a sometimes-impressionistic, sometimes-hyper-real portrait of sounds from specific places and times. Yet, it never comes across as anything but absolutely modern music. They bring the manic, freewheeling qualities of an artist like Ariel Pink to those aforementioned influences to make for one of the most refreshing listens of the year. They are the real deal and total savants. Their albums are love letters to vinyl collections.
The group has won “Best New Music” awards from Pitchfork Media, “Artist of the Year” from Paste Magazine, and has played nearly every major festival during the past two years. The band’s wildly theatric live show is not to be missed and often sells out quickly.
Dub Thompson will kick things off in support of their new Dead Oceans release. The album was recorded by Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado. It’s brilliantly wild, weird and manic.
Tickets for the 9:30pm, 21+ show are $10 and available at Ticketweb.com and at Velouria Records.
Aaron Gomes is the founder and owner/operator of Sound N Vision Foundation, a nonprofit organization that brings indie bands to the area and sponsors local art events.