For Freeland, less is more

Freeland overuses electronic music, lacks inspiration in album.

By: Clay Harley

Posted: 7/2/09

DJ and Producer Adam Freeland moves in a new direction with his newest album, "Cope."

Released under the band name Freeland on June 9, "Cope" features Freeland's usual electronic music but includes real instruments such as drums, electric guitars and vocals.

The album is worth a listen and will likely please Freeland's fans and fans of the club music genre. Ultimately, though, it lacks inspiration and insight and suffers from repetition and overwhelming effects.

The album's first track, "Do You," opens with a dynamic synthesizer lick and a satisfyingly fat and heavy drumbeat, making "Do You" a solid opener. Here, and throughout the album, Freeland takes advantage of the electronic aspect of his compositions by creating complex transitions and breakdowns using a variety of sounds. Often a section of any given song is ushered in with a measure or two of rhythmic computer samples, maintaining the listener's interest and the flow of the song.

Another advantage of electronic songwriting is the ability to surprise the listener with sounds, and Freeland does. A particularly clever use lies in the second song, "Under Control." The song's vocals, driving beat and buzzing guitar and bass suddenly drop out, and a chorus of voices repeat the last lyric, "All right!" in time. Then, the beat, guitars and vocals pick back up as before. Being able to dazzle the listener is a useful skill in composition, and Freeland certainly shows his capacity to do this.

The fifth and best track of the album is "Mancry." This is the only recording that was able to communicate feeling or inspiration. The song features a simple three-chord progression on a synthesizer, accentuated with intense drum patterns. The synthesizer progression starts alone and pulses in time with the rhythm, subdividing the beat into 16th notes.

In the background, there is the sound of a phone ringing. Though the significance of the ringing phone is not known, it somehow works and adds to the picture being painted in the listener's mind. As the energy intensifies, the drums enter with a tom-tom rhythm and crescendo into the first note of the progression each time it repeats. After a substantial build-up, the drums cut out and the synthesizer plays alone, and then it is repeated. Though the progression never materializes into anything, the track is nevertheless effective, and conveyed feelings of sadness and hope.

One of the flaws of "Cope" is that many of its songs are too repetitive and lose listeners' interest. "Mancry" is saved from this by its appealing nature, but in the other tracks, mediocre phrases or lyrics are repeated in excess, and songs become tedious to listen through. Repetitions aren't to an absurd extent, so the songs aren't ruined but they do suffer. For example, in "Wish I Was Here," the song's title is sung over and over for almost three minutes. While Freeland probably hoped to convey a true feeling of desire by repeating the phrase, it instead sounds forced and therefore isn't believable.

Another weakness, also involving excess, is the overuse of synthesized sounds and effects. Every sound on the album, save for the drums, is ridden with fuzzy, grungy effects. Even the vocals are altered, often sounding like it is being sung through a megaphone. Yes, this is electronic music; effects and computerized sounds are expected. When it is used so heavily though, I find that the music becomes noisy and difficult to listen to. Such was the case for me with "Cope."

"Cope" excels in technical aspects, and I would recommend a listen if music specifics interest you. It is also a solid electronic and club music album. However, other than "Mancry," most of the tracks seem fairly uninspired and aren't able to communicate anything insightful or meaningful.

Clay Harley is a junior business administration major