With a name as good as Absolutely Free – shared with Frank Zappa’s second record – I was immediately drawn to their debut record, a swirling mass of guitars, drums, and whispers, with influences from all over the map.
But first, a word about the band. Absolutely Free is a trio, made up of former members of DD/MM/YYYY, a band I remember having a great reputation as a live act. Each of them plays a range of instruments: generally, I think Mike Claxton plays bass, Moshe Rozenberg plays keyboard, and Matt King sings and plays drums. But back in their old band, everybody swapped instruments all the time (especially live), so don’t quote me on that.
Musically, it’s mostly dream pop with snatches of their wide range of influences: they’ll sound one moment like sunny 60s pop, then like something out of mid-70s Germany before settling into an 80s video game score. On the whole, I was reminded of fellow Toronto band The Most Serene Republic’s first record Underwater Cinematographer. Which isn’t bad company to be compared to.
There’s a wide palate of sounds here. Things drift in and out and the music constantly shifts. Take “Earth II,” over five minutes, they go between spacey keyboards to a tight drum/bass groove and finally everything starts swirling around and the song ends. It feels like it’s building and ends up sounding like a jam session.
There’s moments of inspiration throughout. I enjoyed the spaced-out “Beneath the Air,” which explodes out of a fog into drum rolls and chiming keyboards. “Vision’s” chugging guitars, tinkling keyboards, and shouted vocals reminded me a lot of CAN’s mid-70s music. And the distant-yet-sunny vibe of “My Dim Age” is a nice slice of psychedelic pop.
These moments also seem to come when the band has a little more focus, when they’re not throwing all their influences into a pot and seeing what happens. But, ultimately, their range of tastes is what keeps Absolutely Free’s debut both interesting. Their sound can go in so many directions and I’m genuinely curious to see where it leads. It’s an interesting debut with flashes of psychedelic pop and krautrock that kept me tuned in. Absolutely Free’s a trio to keep your eyes on.
Rating: 3/5
http://absolutelyfree.ca/
More writing from M. Milner here.