I want to precede this by saying we never do this. It is rare to never that we will post on something we feel negatively about, but in the case of Free Energy’s sophomore album Love Sign, I feel more than obligated to share my honest reaction to an album whose anticipation I have been hyping for several months. Truthfully, I expected much more from the Philadelphia five-piece. Or maybe it would do better to say I expected much less. To put it simply, this album tries way way way way way way too hard. It’s incredibly poppy and obnoxiously polished. It’s so over the top I couldn’t begin to take it seriously, even if it removed about five pounds of makeup and took off its glitter wig. After listening to it all the way through, I feel about eight years younger but not in a good way. With so much “dancing all night” and “waiting around to fall in love,” this album might appeal to you if you’re depressed that the Twilight series is over. No offense. It’s difficult to say what the highs and lows of the album are because every song–more or less–sounds exactly the same. There are definitely moments where I could see how someone with cheap taste in music might say “Oh this is great!” (see: “Dance All Night”) but they are short lived. This is bound to be divisive. Not to be an overly cynical asshole, but this album is, in several ways, a joke to the indie genre. I’d be happy to go back to Stuck On Nothing and pretend Love Sign didn’t happen.

Free Energy – Dance All Night
[audio:https://controlaltdelight.com/2012%20albums/FREE%20ENERGY/Free-Energy-Dance-All-Night.mp3]