Free Energy
Artist: Free Energy
Hails From: Philadelphia, PA
Musical Style: Power Pop, Rock
For Fans of: The Strokes, T. Rex, Pavement
Why you should check them out:
Summer is the season made for Free Energy – dishing out a classic 70’s arena rock sound bathed ever so gently in 21st century polish. This is music for a sweat-soaked city, for hoisting cold beverages and firing up the grill. Brimming with windmill guitar riffs, crispy hooks, a smattering of handclaps and just the right amount of instrumental flourish, Free Energy aims to inject that warm, fuzzy feeling through their boombox brand of carefree guitar rock.
Background check:
Over the tick-tock-tick of a well-engineered cowbell and a ringing two chord guitar blast, Free Energy righteously declare their second coming: “We’re breaking out this time.”
That’s because Free Energy is the second rock iteration for frontman Paul Sprangers and guitarist Scott Wells, who left Minnesota for Philly after the chaotic demise of their similar sounding band Hockey Night in 2007.
In 2009, with additional players in place, Free Energy released a debut 7”, Free Energy/Something in Common, followed by a three-track EP. Their debut album Stuck on Nothing, produced by LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and released in March on his own label DFA, is a collection of mid-tempo rockers that deliver quickly. Murphy’s dance-punk ethics and Free Energy’s classic vibe may seem like an unholy alliance until you press play. It’s bright, it’s shiny and it’s reduced to the essentials.
Months after its release, Free Energy’s initial declaration proved true. Stuck on Nothing has captured the attention of music mags big and small, including name drops in Spin and Rolling Stone, landing Free Energy on a host of top ten lists practically begging you to dig this band.
This summer finds Free Energy touring with husband-and-wife team Mates of State and New Jersey power rockers Titus Andronicus, and bringing their freewheeling tunes to a sun-drenched America.
–Eric Quist
photo credit: Cass Bird
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