Blood Orange - Freetown Sound

Blood Orange
Freetown Sound
2016
Spotify

Freetown Sound is not fucking around. Amid the turbulent world that this album was released in this record cuts through all that muck to convey a sentiment of unease and distrust. What Blood Orange does is take vocal samples and electronic music and wrap all those emotions up into something really beautiful. The record feels like a combination of Jamie xx, Tame Impala and Anohni part great dance music, but then the greater piece is the message He is trying to convey. There is a lightning pace to Freetown Sound with only a few songs going over four minutes. However the flow is never lost, each track spills into the next creating a unified record. Don't be confused though in every way this is a protest record and has some issues that it wants to deal with. With all this in mind the album is still incredibly inviting, allowing room for everyone to get a piece of what Blood Orange is putting across. Probably the catchiest song on the album is "Best To You", and it just happens to have a really great dance hook. On this record Blood Orange takes the whole idea of Nu-Disco to another level, where it isn't just pure dance pop but using those same tones and vibes to get across a real message.

There are times on Freetown Sound when Blood Orange can get a bit to technical for his own good. On "E.V.P." the song ends with a free form jazz exploration sounding number. It becomes distracting and takes you out of what could otherwise be a great track. "But You" might as well have been sung by Michael Jackson because it almost perfectly encapsulates his style. Much of the album feels a bit like a nod to some other style or genre, but done in a really new and interesting way. A combination of 80s electro pop and nu disco come through as the two biggest influences. Towards the end of the record things to get a bit clogged up and you feel like oyu have probably heard all you are going to. Blood Orange continues with the theme of the record, but by about the 40th minute he has run out of ways to surprise you and the album doesn't stop. A bright spot in this part of the record is "Juicy 1-4" its appeal is fleeting. There are times when Freetown Sound soars and other times where it feels a bit to self important for it's own good. However that does not take away from what in all respects is a really good album and one really worth your time.

7.9 out of 10