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Review: Jack Foley
TO THOSE in the know, Freeform Five has long been a name to revere,
apparently, synonymous for a series of much sought-after vinyl-only
releases, such as Perspex Sex, Electromagnetic EP and
the original version of Eeeeaaooww.
According to their PR, they also have earned themselves a name
among the premier league of dance remixers, which associates them
with wildly enriched reworkings of hits like N*E*R*D’s Lapdance,
X-press 2’s Lazy and even Elton John’s Are
You Ready For Love.
And just in case you aren't in the know, then Freeform Five
are actually comprised of four - lynchpin producer, multi-instrumentalist
and chief songwriter Anu Pillai and vocalists Cabba, Tamara Barnett-Herrin
and Nick Decosemo.
They boast some impressive credentials which, sadly, their album
fails to realise.
Strangest Things is supposed to deliver some of the
catchiest numbers you've heard all summer, yet it's a curiously
restrained affair that doesn't sound anywhere near as groundbreaking
as the PR might have you believe.
There are some good tracks, some indifferent tracks, and some
downright stinkers, making it a mixed bag and a missed opportunity.
When they tackle brooding melancholy, they get it right; yet
when they head on to the dancefloor and into club banger territory,
the album seriously trips over itself and sounds hopelessly generic
to boot.
Of the good stuff, the pensive Easy rates among the
best tracks on the album, thanks to some seriously sultry vocals.
It's billed as 'stripped down soultronica' and boasts a delicious
bed-fellow in Slow, which plays to the chill-out crowd,
albeit with male vocals (and a distinct Dirty Vegas flavour).
The funky Losing My Control, with its infectious N*E*R*D-like
beats and sex-pop outlook, also boasts some hip credentials, while
title track, Strangest Things, throws in some welcome
dysfunctional rock.
But for every track that hits, there is another just waiting
in the wings to disappoint, making the mixture of styles more
of a pain than an inspiration.
The current fixation for all things 80s rears its tired head
during tracks such as No More Conversations, which up
the electronica, and feel lazy as a result.
Likewise, What Do I Want From You?, while the supposedly
sassy Let Me Down feels like second-hand Sugababes, with
a wretched girl-band chorus to boot.
Even the pensive final track, What Are You Waiting For?,
pales by comparison to other, similar chilled out material, which
leaves you on the back foot when coming away from it.
The biggest problem with Strangest Things, however,
is that it keeps its gaze fixated a little too hard on the mainstream,
making it an album for the undemanding Capital crowd who don't
really like being challenged by their music.
That, in itself, is enough to render it a disappointment, albeit
with the odd bright moment.
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Track listing:
1. Electromagnetic
2. Eeeeaaooww feat. Bounty Killer
3. What Do I Want From You
4. Losing My Control
5. Easy
6. Strangest Things
7. No More Conversations
8. Let Me Down
9. Slow
10. Shake
11. Ask Me Tomorrow
12. What Are You Waiting For
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