Catch Some Rising Stars

There’s nothing like the blush of youth. Everything seems possible, and it almost is. With a dearth of life experience to draw upon (and perhaps stifle creativity perversely), why not immerse yourself in the history of rock ‘n’ roll, plunder what moves you, mash it together in a blender and then a centrifuge and see where it leads, what is produced?

Those thoughts (and more) are what seem to be the animating impulses behind three acts I’d like to spotlight this month. And as a bonus I report on what the first two sounded like in concert in New Orleans recently.

FOXYGEN is basically two guys from LA who’ve known each other their whole lives. Sam France and Jonathan Rado have been making homemade “albums” since they were 15, but they just released their first proper full-length effort, WE ARE THE 21st CENTURY AMBASSADORS OF PEACE AND MAGIC. And yes, they court, embrace and revel in their paisley and hallucinogenic vibe. Heard recently in an interview, they positively shuddered with delight as having been described as “literally psychedelic.”

All of which wouldn’t mean squat if these boys couldn’t write a decent song, and they assuredly can. And most of these titles contain three or four different song structures strung or stitched together a la McCartney. It sounds messy, but it plays well. Much credit should go to their producer, Richard Swift, a polymath who punches up the sound just enough to make the album coherent without sacrificing its exuberance.

“Into the Darkness” sounds like a foreboding title, but it’s a blast of Sgt. Pepper-flavored sunshine with pounding piano and heraldic trumpets. “No Destruction” finds France slurring his syllables like Jagger and sliding his notes in Dylanesque style, talking about all manner of shuffled images and admonitions (“You don’t have to be an a**hole, you’re not in Brooklyn any more.”) “Blue Mountain” starts off in a crawl, then explodes into a rollicking ride with shards of “Under My Thumb,” then slows way down into a funky break, then back again into a shout-along outro. “San Francisco” has Summer of Love tattooed all over its torso, but gets brought down to earth when a guest female vocal (Jesse Baylin?) answers his lament of “I left my love in San Francisco” with “That’s okay, I was bored anyway” and “That’s okay, I was born in L.A.” A sweet and lilting song, saved from preciousness by the insouciant girlfriend’s offhand blow-off.

Other highlights are “Shuggie,” a tribute to Shuggie Otis, an R&B rocker from the ‘70s who’s poised to make a comeback himself; and “Oh Yeah,” the most badass thing here, with bits of NOLA funk drumming and some heartrending Lennonesque swoops of derring-do.

Caught live at One Eyed Jack’s on a double bill with the next band discussed, Foxygen did not disappoint. The band showed off its expanded lineup with an added drummer, bassist and background singer, leaving France and Rado free to cavort. They were clearly having a ball; the infectious joy was sprayed all over the very young crowd, who got their hipster facades melted away in due time.

UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA (UMO) is essentially Ruban Neilson, a New Zealander transplanted to Portland, Ore. (“Keep Portland Weird,” says the sign in the opening credits of “Portlandia”– check that off on the to-do list.) UMO’s first self-titled album was kind of Foxygenesque (I totally know I’m overusing that trope) in its impish joy. The new one, II, is a moodier, more cohesive and altogether more satisfying listen.

Neilson’s also stepped-up his game by recruiting a real drummer and bassist, and the combo is tick-tight. But his guitar playing and gentle vocals are the real show, and they carry the day in service to these rich and slightly off-kilter songs.

The press advances for this one catalogues Neilson’s penchant for altering his mood while on the road, and his consciousness-expansion is not hard to discern here. From the counterintuitively dark-sounding “Into the Sun” (“Isolation can put a gun into your hand”), the album glides onto tales of a special kind of sleep deprivation (“Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark))” to the mellow funk (Donny Hathaway…esque!) and sweet remorse of “So Good at Being in Trouble.” Rockier tunes like “One at a Time” and “No Need for a Leader” serve to rev up the proceedings without jarring the mood. “Monki” is a seven-and-a-half minute opus of downtempo soul, late-night musings and guitar storytelling. This one creeps up on you and insinuates itself into your cortex.

UMO headlined the show in NOLA and had a tough act to follow. They responded with a much harder-edged stage presence, roughing up the arrangements to a diamond-edged sheen. The rhythm section swung hard, digging deep to find a groove and then laying it out wide. Neilson was resplendent in a flowing cape and beanie of undetermined religious affiliation (maybe Wiccan, as his cover art depicts?). If he was enhanced through any artificial means, it was under control and had no visible effect on his performance, which was spot on.

RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA is of Indian-American descent and an alto saxophonist of growing stature. He spent a lot of time as a sideman in pianist Vijay Iyer’s own cultural stew, but has been stepping out more and more on his own. His latest is a tour-de-force of power and grace: GAMAK.

Fronting a quartet with the freakishly-talented guitarist, David Fiuczynski, the French bassist, Francois Moutin, and the worldly Dan Weiss on drums, Mahanthappa seeks to meld the gamakas (the name given to the note-bending and swooping you hear in Indian classical music) and Western forms like jazz, blues and rock.

He succeeds, wildly. This is a blast from start to finish, with all four leading, following and chasing each other through hairpin turns, meandering byways and the occasional cul-de-sac. You don’t have to be a jazzbo or even particularly fond of instrumental music to get off on this – just a set of open ears and an adventurous spirit. Fiuczynski particularly will delight if you’re a guitar lover – he can shred or bend notes like a demented bluesman with an inexhaustible imagination. (“Lots of Interest” is a particular burner.) I didn’t get to see this guy live, but I’ll jump at the chance if presented.

Sam France and Jonathan Rado “court, embrace and revel in their paisley and hallucinogenic vibe” as Foxygen in their latest album, “We are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic,” writes Gumbo Entertainment Guide critic Dave Norman.

COURTESY WWW.JAGJAGUWAR.COMN

“We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic”

“II”

“Gamak”