Free Energy are a five-piece band from Philadelphia, PA, who specialize in kicking your ass with feel-good 70’s-lifted rock and roll. Their new album, Stuck On Nothing, is ten tracks of pure easy-going fun. If you don’t like having fun, you won’t like Free Energy.
I first saw the band live in New York during my CMJ escapades back in October 2009, and I saw them again last week at SXSW 2010. Needless to say, they put on a hell of a good show. The lead singer has a Julian Casablancas-like swagger, while the backing band delivers punchy, catchy bass lines and squealing guitar solos the Knack wish they wrote.
A sampling of rocking tunes from the group can be found after the jump. Crank ’em up, pump your fist, and shake your ass.
I saw these guys open for Ted Leo at CMJ in October, and it was a pretty enjoyable show overall. I remember thinking that there are a lot of bands that are trying this indie-electro/tribal music in the vein of MIA, et al, but few manage to deliver with such irresistible swagger and inescapable melody.
Today the duo releases a new EP titled Settings (pictured above) and they have a slew of SXSW dates planned, so I definitely plan on seeing them again to observe their progression. In the meantime, I’m jamming this track, “Real Life,” featuring a dominant drum beat that feels like it’s about to collapse but keeps coming back on rhythm, speeding up to catch up with the rest of the song. And it succeeds, everytime.
