PRESS
Akron/Family
Rocksound, Issue 72, May 25 ’05 (UK) | by Mike Diver
Rating: 8
Rural types that ditched the country for the bustle of New York City back in 02, Akron/Family aren’t any old musicians looking to impress upon a scene; they’re not conventionally cool or hip, aping retro acts to seek commercial success. They’re simply men, born with hearts and souls, and all they do is write songs – sometimes sparse, sometimes complex – that possess charm and character enough to render that opening sentence irrelevant: this music doesn’t need location to serve as a point of stylistic reference. It’s absolutely conceivable that this, their first proper studio release after several self-issued recordings, will attract comparisons to today’s self-styled ‘free-folk’ artists. However, it should be noted that whilst Devendra Banhart et al are now successful, money-spinning assets, it’s acts like Akron/Family who craft the songs that cut closest to the bone.