Producers have great power to change one\u2019s perception of an artist. A well-known producer paired with a relatively unknown artist can bring the artist some serious attention. This is true in the case of the pairing of Absolutely Free, a band with a laughably unflattering name, and the celebrated indie artist Jorge Elbrecht, who has produced, mixed, and recorded Aftertouch<\/i>. Granted, this Toronto-based outfit\u2019s 2014 self-titled release\u2014not produced by Elbrecht\u2014received some attention and acclaim. But Caroline Polachek, Ariel Pink, and Tamaryn\u2014big-ish names in indie music who have collaborated with Elbrecht\u2014Absolutely Free are not. Therefore, potential new listenership attracted by the \u201cElbrecht\u201d branding is most certainly welcome. <\/p>\n
However, after a mere few seconds into Aftertouch\u2019s<\/i> first track \u201cEpilogue,\u201d it becomes clear as day that Absolutely Free don\u2019t need to\u2014and do not\u2014ride on Elbrecht\u2019s coattails to be validated. The band\u2019s confidence is raw and their performance is honed. Their eighties synth-influenced psychedelic rock music has a sense of grandness that only comes with confidence. The music is loud and vibrant with the group taking the time to meticulously explore the ideas in each song, all but two of which are over five minutes long. <\/p>\n
Aftertouch<\/i> has lots of synths, yet it doesn\u2019t sound like a synth-pop record. This is due to the element of psychedelia that Absolutely Free bring into these numbers and their performance of music as a proper band. Frontman Matt King\u2019s hypnotically serene lead vocals and the surrounding celestial vocal harmonies, Afrobeat-aspiring drums and guitars, and analogue synths all provide a refreshing counterbalance to any synth-pop leanings the album might have. <\/p>\n
In this manner, there is commonality between Aftertouch<\/i> and some of Elbrecht\u2019s own music, which tends to soak up different styles even while it is holding onto an eighties-pop identity at its core. More significantly, Aftertouch\u2019s<\/i> musicianship and musical style are distinct, and as an added bonus, it is (obviously) produced, mixed, and recorded with a painter\u2019s instinct to capture beauty and a surgeon\u2019s fastidiousness to achieve precision: what a divine artist-producer pair!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":35245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[11062],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-47130","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-absolutely-free","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/47130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/47130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=47130"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=47130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}