Free Energy
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | MAJOR
Music
Press
"a real high-fidelity, guitar-heavy and totally unironic AM-rock sound that reminds us of Tom Petty and great summers.... it's brilliant, obviously." - FACT
If James Murphy wants us to believe that he's an old man trapped in a young man's game, he's going to have to stop picking from the tree of life at some point. Signing Philly livewires Free Energy to DFA is not that step towards graceful maturity, and for that your coming summer months owe the codger a debt of gratitude. After hearing only "Dream City", a cut from the band's forthcoming debut, Stuck on Nothin', it would be unwise to ignore Murphy's commendation of something this unbridled and, in the spirit of things, totally rad. "Dream City" is a good-time 1970s rock rip of epic proportions, as promises of dancing downtown, cruising around, and getting "lost in the endless sound" weave in and out like the attention span of a drunk in the backseat. It's perfect mood music for a night that looses itself in the afterglow of the inevitable busting of the moontower kegger, leaving everyone a little high, a little bored, and completely enraptured with the endless possibility of youth. The handclaps, the na-na-nas, the maddening twinkle in the eyes-- they're all here, playing like subtle reminders to take note of these things before they pass, or at least until we get to hear the rest of Stuck on Nothin'.
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11263-dream-city/ - PiTCHFORK
You can’t accuse me of it if I admit it first: I’m jumping on a bandwagon. You can’t call me a follower if I just don’t care. You can’t bring me down when I’m pumping out “Dream City”, the awesome new jam from recently DFA-signed feel-gooders Free Energy.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Free Energy emerge this week with an infectious anthem that has the musical and lyrical wisdom of a veteran rock band’s final goodbye, rather than a pop group’s nascent beginning. But this is only apart of the appeal. “Dream City” situates the absurdly-named “Free Energy” smack in the middle of our synapse, and they haven’t missed a step. Not much complex here, just great, good, clean night-after rock fun. “It’s a 70s rip-off,” scream the petulant curmudgeon’s in Brooklyn Vegan’s comment section; I wouldn’t know, I didn’t live in the 70s.
A raucous guitar provides our backdrop while a brass section adds the flare atop community-oriented sing-a-longs. The “na na na’s” that close the song out show this lyrical technique is alive and well. “Hey, we’re coming out! Dancing downtown, free, like whatever we dream about,” the song emphatically begins. Unlike other anthems, “Dream City” isn’t content to stand alone, it extends the invitation for us to help chant in the rapturous chorus or simply sway our heads back and forth in enjoyment.
http://www.thetripwire.com/listen/2009/05/29/free-energy-dream-city/ - tripwire
"a road-trip-appropriate blast of T. rex glam complete with hand claps. fuzzed-out riffs and loads of 'na-na-nas'" - Rolling Stone
Discography
ALBUMS
2009 - Stuck on Nothin'
Photos
Bio
Free Energy doesnt want to stare at their feet. They want to look you in the eye. Theyre not interested in being trendy. They are interested in being timeless. They are not interested in anger. They are interested in positivity. Put simply, the band is simply about good old-fashioned fun, with writing great songs, making great records, and putting on shows that put on a smile on your face.
The band was started by childhood friends Paul Sprangers and Scott Wells, who grew up together in rural Minnesota. Previous to Free Energy, they spent time together in cult Minneapolis outfit Hockey Night, who put out a well received record on lookout just right before they folded. Known for the manic energy of their live shows, Hockey Night burned bright and burned fast, and when it was over Paul and Scott went back to Minneapolis to regroup and write some new songs.
These demos eventually found their way to dfa Records, the seminal NYC indie started by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, his production partner Tim Goldsworthy (who had been the invisible hand at seminal indie Mo Wax) and a young NY kid named Jon Galkin. The songs were not the typical fare the label had been releasing, but the quality of the music spoke to the inner rock fan in all the parties at the label.
Shortly after signing to the label, they decamped to New York and set up shop at dfas Plantain Studios, with James Murphy at the production helm, and started work on Stuck on Nothin, their debut album (due to be released in early 2010 on dfa/Astralwerks/Virgin). The goal was to make a record that stood up to the great records they had in their crates at home.
Along the way, they moved to Philly and hooked up with guitarist Geoff Bucknum, drummer Nick Shuminsky, and bassist Evan Wellls, and the fully-formed Free energy was born. We hope they make you smile too.
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