PRESS
Akron/Family | review
twist the arm of folk-music behind its own backp>Nicely laboured pluck, bitty bleeps and backfacing swashes, vocals cracking under the pressure of nervous energy. The harmonic ethics of TV On The Radio and the wide-eyed folketeering of fellow Gira-protégé Devendra Banhart. All this in opener ‘Before And Again’, sets us up nicely for Beach Boys harmonies elsewhere, the clink rattle of stoner-country shanty ‘Italy’ and the slender but passionate chant of ‘Franny/You’re Human’. These are apparently edited version of live epics and, admittedly, it does have the feel of a sampler, but there are sublime moments such as ‘Suchness’ where rusty water pipes are seemingly tapped in a itinerant attempt to explore pitch. Akron/Family twist the arm of folk-music behind its own back and bark in its ear to keep up with the times. Folk music complies.