Before we start, here's a quick look at the rating system that we use here at The Dirtywhirl:
100 - Classic Album; One Of The Best Of All Time
99-90 - Exceptional Work; Rush Out And Get This
89-80 - Very, Very Good; You Should Still Go Out And Get This
79-70 - Not Bad At All; Might Actually Be Worth Your Time
69-60 - Has Its Moments But On The Whole... Meh
59-50 - Won't Make Your Ears Bleed; Won't Make You Dance, Either
49-0 - Don't Waste Your Time; You're Smarter Than This (Probably)
Now... onto the review:
Free Energy | Stuck On Nothing
There’s a fine line between revival and mimicry. Fall on the wrong side of that line and you can end up sounding like… Jet (shudder). Fortunately, Free Energy (from Philly – represent) seems to stay on the right side of that line with their debut long player, Stuck On Nothing. Stuck On Nothing is the type of record that’s completely made for summer 2010, or even summer 1981. If people still drove Trans Ams and pimped them out with killer hi-fi systems, this record is what would be blaring from the speakers. It’s one of the more anachronistic records of the year (sounding like it’s permanently fixated in the late ‘70’s/early ‘80’s) but it wears that era well. It’s because of this love of the past that it becomes readily apparent that Free Energy likes to wear their favorite bands on their sleeves in fairly obvious fashion as the record plays like a pastiche of disparate influences, ranging from Cheap Trick (“Free Energy”) to T. Rex (the guitar intro and teenage anthemics of “Dream City”) to Rush (the intro to “All I Know”) to Thin Lizzy (“Bad Stuff”) to Bruce Springsteen (“Young Hearts”), but maybe that isn’t too surprising considering that Free Energy is signed to DFA Records and Stuck On Nothing was produced by noted record geek James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem). Their namesake track kicks off the record and announces the band’s classic rock bonafides right away, while “Bang Pop” is the clear choice for a breakout single (if there is to be one) with its stupidly catchy chorus, “Bang bang pop pop/ When does the searchin’ stop/ Bang bang pop pop/ When the mind goes.” Vocalist Paul Sprangers has a slight Billy Corgan circa-“1979”-era Smashing Pumpkins quality to his voice but the rest of the band is not without its chops. “Light Love” features some interesting guitar work as it leads into the more than capable midtempo rocker, “Hope Child.” At times, like many young bands, Free Energy tends to overextend themselves. Stuck On Nothing does tail off noticeably in its second half and the overreaching is apparent, particularly on “Dark Trance,” a very average track that’s too reliant on its memorable hook, or on “Bad Stuff” which is too overt in its love for “The Boys Are Back In Town” before devolving into a mess of a spoken word outro. Still, if Free Energy can somehow build on solid tracks like “Free Energy,” “Bang Pop,” and “Hope Child” they could have a chance to stick around for a while because there are really few bands today that are rocking this kind of sound. If not, they could end up in the novelty bin fairly quickly.
Standout Tracks: "Bang Pop;" "Free Energy;" "Hope Child"
Dirty Rating: 76/100
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