ROBOTS & ELECTRONIC BRAINS

Freeboy, demo tape (unsigned)

Just got back from seeing Freeboy play at the Boatrace. They were supposed to be supporting Elcka but it was obvious to everyone who the crowd were there to see (most obvious to Elcka I suspect, who had to play while people walked out). The band expected nothing less though: as we left (early), I bumped into singer Jason who was waiting for people to come out so that he could flyer them to death.

So, what do you get with your tea round at Chez Freeboy? Well, you'll find the biscuit barrel crammed with delicious cookies but they won't be from a single packet of chocolate digestives (tasty as they might be), rather they'll be from one of those Family Circle variety packs that your Mom gets in every Christmas, the ones with those pink wafer sandwiches and jammy rings (yuk yuk). What I'm trying to say here is that though all of Freeboy's songs could be described as angular pop owing more than a small debt to Syd Barrett, there's a uniqueness to each one that makes it special. At the gig they actually covered a little-known Barrett song, their enthusiasm totally infectious with slightly surreal between-song banter only adding to the atmosphere.

The demo tape is no different, 6 songs on this particular tape, although they come in several flavours, top track for me is "Fancyman" featuring the refrain "There's no-one else I know, that I hate more that you" while at the same time sounding so joyful that you just want to jump up and down with a beaming smile on your face. A nice trick that no-one else seems to be using at the moment (the only other band I can think of doing a similar thing are Bennet on Roadrunner).

Write to Freeboy at: 28a Milton Road, Cambridge, CB4 1JY.

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