Thank God that Free Energy’s newest album, Love Sign, was released this week. It’s 2013, the world didn’t end after all, and we need a soundtrack to which to celebrate. I’ll be darned if the Philadelphia-based classic rock pop ensemble didn’t serve up exactly we were looking for. With Love Sign, Free Energy offers up ten boppy, light-hearted yet well-crafted songs that are equally as awesome to dance to as they are to play on full blast in your car.
It starts off with “Electric Fever”, an anthem-type track boasting dueling guitars that works to set the tone for the rest of the album. Closely following is “Girls Want Rock”, one of Love Sign‘s first singles for good reason: it spanks. Next comes “Dance All Night,” which is a personal favorite of mine — this may just be the title but the it reminds me of Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own.” The next two songs, “Hey Tonight” and “Hold You Close”, are equally catchy numbers daring the singer’s audience to take a chance on fun lovin’ fun with him. You have got to love the creative use of wood blocks in the intro to “Backscratcher”, though I have to admit I tend to jump the gun and skip to “Hangin’.” The sound on “Hangin'” uses power pop chords to remind me of my ’90s childhood in the best way possible, which is similarly done in the track “Street Survivor.” The group slows things down ever so slightly with “True Love”, another anthem-esque number questioning whether we should still be waiting around for true love. They appropriately wrap things up with the song “Time Rolls On”, where they once again use their power pop rock that rings bells of optimism for the future.
Overall, Love Sign is awesome. If I were to make one critique it would be that the guys of Free Energy could stand to throw a bit more variation in style from song to song…but I’m hesitant to say even that. While the rest of us are having too much fun being sad, they are making a sound that no one else is making right now, and the energy in it is a breath of fresh air. All right 2013, Free Energy and the rest of us are ready for ya.