Fredericton outfit Free to Grow released their third album, Time to Rise, earlier this month. With countless creative minds and even more instruments credited in the release, Time to Rise is a grabbag album with something for everyone. Free to Grow certainly live up to their name; what better way to grow your musical interests than by listening to the melodic moshpit this album offers us?
You don’t need to look beyond the first track to get the sense of musical fluidity portrayed by this album. The light-hearted, countryside vibe that “Grey Skies” greets us with, using cheerful string plucks and an ever-welcoming flute tune, is paired with a small hint of slow rock ‘n’ roll as a drum set and electric guitar sneak in at around the halfway mark.
“When I Dream“ turns this hint of rock music and brings it centre stage. Indeed, the group expertly marries the now-prominent drum set and electric guitar together with a spunky, tell-it-like-it-is attitude that such styles excel at. Also sharing a similar feel is “Hipster,” where a slight twang can be heard in the guitar alongside lyrics that are supremely anti-man bun.
Classic rock seems to be the constant in the ever-changing batch of music instilled in the album. Whether it’s peaceful and soothing, lyric-heavy and contemplative or bluesy and spunky, each track has its own unique flavour all while wrapped up in a satisfactory layer of classic rock; Quality Street chocolates for your ears, if you will.
“Preacher”, one of my personal favourites from the album, takes an acoustic detour that welcomes us with mesmerizing hi-hat patterns before getting into a beat not unlike a more relaxed “Outsiders” by Needtobreathe. The harmonic nursery rhymes in between verses are a curious touch as well.
“Burdock” brings a deeper sound to the album, relying heavily on voices—both lyrical and choir-esque—for its music. The booming chorus drums and simplistic-yet-effective guitar throughout the piece give the voices just enough support to tell their story musically.
All of these varying styles and musical approaches can be attributed to the hefty number of people the album is credited to. With fifteen performers featured, there’s no shortage of variety in Time to Rise; when you can designate the parts of “sexy talk,” “distressing screams,” and “random yelling” to three separate individuals, that’s how you know your album has auditory diversity.
Time to Rise has something for everyone, and listeners are sure to enjoy exploring the many different talents displayed by Free to Grow.