PRESS
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Love Is Simple | Review
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Jeff Terich | AlarmPress.com just a bunch of really incredible momentsBrooklyn’s Akron/Family have been releasing albums steadily and frequently since their debut in 2005, with their last full-length being the diverse, polarized art rock album Meek Warrior. On that release, they partially abandoned their tribal folk rock sound for a head-spinning trip through Krautrock, psych rock, and pure noise over the course of only seven tracks. With third-and-a-half full-length Love is Simple, Akron/Family go from fighters to lovers, using the album’s title as an implication of the themes held therein. The album is bookended by “Love, Love, Love” and its reprise, each of which echo John Lennon’s sentiment that ‘all you need is love’ with their feelgood harmonies and sweet, easy-going rhythms. From there, however, come plucking banjos, furiously rumbling drums, group chanting, and blazing rock riffs in the epic “Ed Is a Portal.” Akron/Family takes another cue from the Fab Four in “Don’t Be Afraid, You’re Already Dead,” opening the song with a mellotron reminiscent of the intro to “Strawberry Fields Forever.” With that said, the band’s wild experimentation with sound and structure makes this more of a White Album than Sgt. Peppers listening experience. Though “I’ve Got Friends” opens with......
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Love Is Simple | Review
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Ava Dial | Detour-mag.com Akron’s sound and style has never existed in a particular sceneLove’s a word that gets tossed around and stomped on without much genuine feeling. But when Akron/Family harmonizes on it, it sure sounds true. “Lord open my heart,” they croon on “Love and Space,” the psychedelic gospel campfire chant from 2006’s Meek Warrior. And don’t be fooled by the Brooklyn address: Akron’s sound and style has never existed in a particular scene. With people already salivating over the upcoming Love is Simple — we are — drummer Dana Janssen shared a little insight into the Akron/Family life. Dress in your flannel best, comb down your ZZ Top-dropping beards, and get ready for some blissfully spaced and relentless jamming on a sound that often can’t be placed. The Family has officially welcomed you into the fold. Worst fanboy/fangirl experience… “I’m not going to get too detailed, but I had to go to the dermatologist.” Favorite music venue/city… “La Sala Rossa in Montreal has proven itself to be one of the most outstanding venues I’ve been lucky enough to perform at multiple times. From hospitality all the way to the pro-family vibes, this town does it le meilleur!”......
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Love Is Simple | Review
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Big Takeover, Fall 07Love might not always be simple, but it seems for Akron/Family, making great records is.The ever-evolving quartet’s newest release is no exception. The heartbreakingly beautiful “Don’t be Afraid…” showcases the vocal harmonies that have become their staple, following one of the highlights, “Ed is a Portal,” which features a lavish chorus of singer/chanters. Meanwhile, “Of All of the Things” is a quasi-Irish drinking song that turns into a folk rock song, while “Lake Song” sounds like what would happen if Sufjan Stevens wrote tribal/world music with some minor freakouts. Whether drone, freak-folk, or classic rock, these fearless genre-benders never disappoint. (younggodrecords.com)...
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Love Is Simple | heart cover
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Stereogum.com Akron boys spotted the Clark pic on the February 2007 cover of National Geographic (nerds!)We've already mentioned digging the gorgeous cover heart for Akron/Family's forthcoming Love Is Simple. Softies we are, though, could've sworn it was made of cotton when we gave love to the Fam's new jam "Phenomena" last week. Should've paid more attention at Bodies..., or when we trekked to the Mutter Museum to see that two-ton colon, 'cause it turns out the image is straight-up reproduction of Robert Clark's photo of a human heart. Compare.. It looks pillowy because the fat and extra tissue was removed -- that's right, pure angel-hair blood vessels. The actual naked heart's housed at the Mutter in Philadelphia, but the Akron boys spotted the Clark pic on the February 2007 cover of National Geographic (nerds!), fell in love with it, and then after months of searching located the photographer to get his permission to have it adorn the new record. And now we're curious about how they decided on Meek Warrior's interstellar Krishna thing. And since we're talking Meek, here's a blast from the not so distant past......
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Love Is Simple Blurb
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Stereogum.com We've already mentioned digging the gorgeous cover heart for Akron/Family's forthcoming Love Is Simple. Softies we are, though, could've sworn it was made of cotton when we gave love to the Fam's new jam "Phenomena" last week. Should've paid more attention at Bodies..., or when we trekked to the Mutter Museum to see that two-ton colon, 'cause it turns out the image is straight-up reproduction of Robert Clark's photo of a human heart. Compare. It looks pillowy because the fat and extra tissue was removed -- that's right, pure angel-hair blood vessels. The actual naked heart's housed at the Mutter in Philadelphia, but the Akron boys spotted the Clark pic on the February 2007 cover of National Geographic (nerds!), fell in love with it, and then after months of searching located the photographer to get his permission to have it adorn the new record. And now we're curious about how they decided on Meek Warrior's interstellar Krishna thing. And since we're talking Meek, here's a blast from the not so distant past......