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Freeman's New Album: Ambitious Scale, Less Appeal
2 Oct
Summary
- Singer-songwriter's third album is more ambitious but less accessible.
- Previous album 'Burnover' featured taut story-songs with loud music.
- New work reflects personal change and a searching quality.
Maryland singer-songwriter Greg Freeman has released his third album, 'All Set the Bone.' This ambitious double album showcases an impressive scale, a significant step up from last year's breakout success, 'Burnover.' However, the new work is noted for being less immediately appealing, featuring a more diffuse and imagistic songwriting style.
Freeman's vocal delivery often sounds strained, contributing to a sense of nervy energy that can feel like a "pressure cooker." The music itself, while not overtly comfortable, creates a queasy unease with frantic guitar and drum passages. Lyrically, the songs delve into anxieties, questioning support systems when heroes falter.
In contrast to 'Burnover,' which featured taut, story-driven songs with a literary bent married to loud rock music, 'All Set the Bone' reflects a period of personal reckoning and change for Freeman during his travels across the US. While it may contain fewer immediate "fireworks" than its predecessor, the album retains Freeman's distinct spark and searching quality.
