According to Wikipedia, the Akron/Family is a folk-influenced experimental rock band. That description only begins to define this band, which has no musical borders.
Members draw upon all of their musical influences and are not afraid to use every instrument in the room to create their sound. They earned their new fame through many coffee house-type gigs over the past eight years. They exist on the fringe of popular music and jam band droning. With their latest album they further deconstruct rock and blues music and expose the pure joy beneath it all.
Kicking off the album is the song “Everyone Is Guilty,” which explodes into a funky jam filled with a sweet bass line and a deftly played percussive guitar riff. This song about dreams is full of life and raw energy. “River” is a fine “I just missed love” song, using a metaphor to flesh out the feeling of loss that the ending of a relationship brings.
Musically, it harkens back to the sixties and could have been the soundtrack to a carnival of that time. “Creatures” and “Many Ghosts” envelope you in some kind of LSD trip. They are odd and creepy in a good way. The standout song for me was "Sun Will Shine (Warmth of the Sunship version).” It has a simple beauty to it. Sounding a lot like The Velvet Underground, this song builds from a slow-whispered vocal to a full-on chant and then disappears into a glimmer of noise.
I like that the music Akron/Family creates is intelligent and complicated. It challenges you and confronts your perception of what music is. These guys are what really excite me about music. They have done it mostly by themselves and do it mostly for themselves. Everyone wants to sell records but few have the integrity to make an album worth buying. Akron/Family have given us Set ‘Em Wild, Set ’Em Free. Now it’s up to you to give it a listen and judge for yourself.
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