You Can Love Her Without Desire
Dear summer: thanks for starting.
From the first second the drums kick in you realize you're in for a classic. What follows is three minutes and twenty seconds of rock pop perfection. You know these guys had dreams and goals when they set out to record this record-- bases they wanted to hit. You can hear it in the far off saxophone, slowly blowing its way out of the song, or in the na na nas, or in the tone of the guitar. It's still organic, it's still real.
Does anyone else hear some Exploding Hearts in this?
When that first chorus hits and all the instruments drop out except for that lone keyboard, it just takes your breath away.
If Free Energy sounds familiar it's because singer / guitarist Paul Sprangers used to front Hockey Night, one of the best (unsung) bands of the early '00s. If you don't believe me, track down This Peaceful Year and get back to me. If the production sounds impeccable it's because James Murphy was in charge. He twiddled the knobs on what's supposedly the DFA's great rock record. So far so good. After the split of his previous band, Sprangers chased his rock dreams down the DFA rabbit hole, coming up drenched in Thin Lizzy, soaking in T.Rex, in Slade. And the band is better for it.
I'm not sure when the album's going to be released, but it's finished and the band are playing shows. If you're lucky enough to be in New York, be sure to check out the Free Energy show at the Mercury Lounge on Tuesday night. It's an early show, and something tells me these dudes are gonna be on fire.