Akron/Family - Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free

Long time, no update, due to being out of town and busy. I have about a billion albums to catch up on, so let's get things started with the new Akron/Family that surfaced last week. Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free is Akron/Family's fourth full length album and first for Dead Oceans, due out on May 5th. It also happens to be their debut as a trio, since original member, Ryan Vanderhoof, left the group in late 2007. One would think that having only three members would hurt Akron/Family's experimental nature, but it actually aids them on Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free, producing one of their most straightforward and non-convoluted albums to date. The album opens with half-shouted yelps and bluesy guitar riffs on "Everyone is Guilty," followed by harmonizing acapella vocals and rollicking guitars on "River," and simple folk melodies and lovely guitar-picking on "Set 'Em Free." One of the true standouts on the album is the epic masterpiece, "Gravelly Mountains Of The Moon," which explodes into a chaotic instrumental freeforall halfway through. Akron/Family also lend their howling vocal acrobatics to this track, closing it out in their signature style that fans know and love. It's clear that less is definitely more on Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free, and by paring their sound down to its bare folk essentials and trying to avoid being overly experimental, Akron/Family have created one of the finest records of 2009 thus far.

DOWNLOAD: Akron/Family - Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free [Dead Oceans]
Recommended Tracks: "Everyone Is Guilty," "Set 'Em Free," "Gravelly Mountains Of The Moon," "They Will Appear."