The psychedelic folk band Akron/Family may be named after a northeast Ohio city, but their sound takes more from open pastures and green mountains than the concrete of urban Akron.
On its newest album, Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free, the New York band created a textured and diverse experimental album while maintaining a free-flowing jam band mentality. Although only a three-piece, you'd never guess it from the music, as all the members are multi-instrumentalists and many tracks are thickly layered with sound.
Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free starts out with a bang, or rather, a thump. Everyone is Guilty
the opening track, is a noisy funk jam with swirling, chaotic guitar riffs and pounding bass that is sure to provoke foot stomping. There's a strong Animal Collective resemblance with multi-vocalist singing and chanting permeated with shakers and noisemakers that give the song a chaotic feel. But, at a moment's notice, the song turns into a quiet, teetering interlude, and just as quickly changes back.
This off-kilter, dynamic style is common to the rest of the album, and it keeps every track interesting. Just as the band settles into a groove, it pulls it out from under itself and implodes into an introspective drone or a psychedelic freak out. Employing violin, a horn section, odd percussion and twinkling electronics, Akron/Family's sound runs every possible permutation of folk while
still remaining coherent and accessible.
The band shows its soft side in The Alps & Their Orange Evergreen and Set 'Em Free both almost entirely acoustic tracks with wonderfully subdued country and bluegrass influence. Yet MBF lets out their freakiness in Sonic Youth-like guitar screeches over a building wall of sound. Eventually, the song breaks down into a harsh, screaming noise barrage.
The band can move from the spaced-out heavy rock of Gravelly Mountains of the Moon to the beautiful, gospel-like singing on Last Year and this genre mashup is a hallmark of its style. Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free is a captivating listen, and provides a steady stream of sonic diversion. Even for those who prefer traditional, structured music, Akron/Family's newest is perfectly suited for playing in the background while driving or during a deep, serious listening session.
3
Culture
Aaron Krumheuer
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