Record Roundup: Foxygen, Kele, Perfume Genius

Today’s Record Roundup showcases three acts who have managed to craft a unique sound and achieve well-earned critical acclaim within an increasingly crowded scene, with new releases from California duo Foxygen, Bloc Party frontman turned solo act Kele and acclaimed Seattle artist Perfume Genius.

Foxygen – …And Star Power

Californian purveyors of ’60s pop rock sounds, Foxygen have announced the follow-up to 2013’s We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic which will come in the form of the 24-track …And Star Power, due out in the US on October 14th, with an Australian release date yet to be announced.

Foxygen, who in keeping with their ’60s theme experienced some Beatles-esque drama last year, also released a promotional image that describes the new effort as a “svelte 82-minute run time of psych-ward folk, cartoon fantasia, soft-rock indulgences, D&D doomrock and paranoid bathroom rompers” and “a cinematic auditory adventure for speedy freaks, skull krunchers, abductees and misfits”.

They say Star Power is “the radio station that you can hear only if you believe” and promise “a gaggle of guest stars” on the record. Keeping fans further satiated, the duo also shared the video for How Can You Really, the album’s first single.

Watch: Foxygen – How Can You Really

Kele – Trick

Following up his debut 2010 solo album The Boxer, Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke has announced his next solo effort Trick, which will see the frontman once again swap out angular guitars and anthemic choruses in favour of sleek dancefloor beats.

For this release he’s dropping his surname, opting instead to go by the singular Kele. The album promises to be at once “soulful”, “sensual” and “libidinous” melding old school soul with modern electronic R&B and, like Kele himself, they’ll be delivered with a distinctively British twist.

Trick will be released in Australia on October 10th, just in time for Okereke’s 33rd birthday.

Watch: Kele – Trick album teaser 2014

Perfume Genius – Too Bright

Acclaimed Seattle artist Mike Hadreas has released two shimmering yet jarring records under the moniker Perfume Genius and has now announced a third, Too Bright, due out on Friday 19th September via Matador/Remote Control.

Recorded with Adrian Utley of Portishead and featuring longtime PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish on several tracks, like all Perfume Genius works Too Bright straddles the line between introspective songwriting and overt experimentation.

Perfume Genius has already released a taste of the bold record with the song and video for Queen. The track and video hint at the themes of the new record, which Hadreas says is about “an underlying rage that has slowly been growing since age ten and has just begun to bubble up.”

Watch: Perfume Genius – Queen

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