Over than the obvious, there’s a common thread that ties together artists such as Jason Molina, Bill Callahan, Will Oldham, Built To Spill and Pavement. Indie rock with country twang and sudden noise embellishments abound, sure, but so does unpredictability. As the pendulum swings between satire and humour to downright sincerity, it’s hard to know what you’re getting at any time; you just have to hold on and hope you don’t get hypnotised by the swinging of the chain.
It’s all the better, then, that Vermont’s Greg Freeman and his band demand attention from the get-go. Not through stage antics and ego – in fact, Freeman, the only member of his band who talks throughout the set, is perfectly polite, softly spoken and amicable – but through quality songcraft, poetic lyricism and tight performance.
And honestly, they sound tight: drummer Cam’s playing is crisp, Patrick’s bass channels groove whether shifting from a dirge to clean basslines. Poppy’s saxophone sweeps gracefully through airy jazz-rock to an undercurrent of droning tension, such on set highlight Tower, from Freeman’s debut, 2022’s I Looked Out. Occasionally throughout the set they’re joined by Gus, whose main job is tambourine and chill vibes. Freeman introduces his band by name near the towards the end of their time onstage, and although there are no stories or anecdotes between songs, you feel like you know them by the time they’re hanging up their instruments.
The band burn through a number of tracks in succession from new album Burnover, released just a couple of weeks ago, pausing only to switch guitars, tune, or don a harmonica harness. A major highlight, in addition to how many times Freeman bumps his head on the mic after crouching down for a sip of Guinness, is just how huge and fun these new trackssound live.
Without the production or instruments of the recorded albums – which include strings, pedal steel and honky-tonk piano – Point And Shoot, Salesman and Curtain sound fantastic, and there’s even a moment where they approach Sonic Youth territory on the outro of Gulch – as does my personal highlight from the debut, Colorado.
It’s hard to know how many members of the audience are familiar with Burnover just yet, but the conviction with which Greg Freeman and his band play has the audience smiling and bobbing their heads. I genuinely forget that it’s a sodden wet Wednesday night.
Greg Freeman, Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, Wed 10 Sept
words and photos JOSHUA JONES
