Let’s face it. You can’t go far wrong with a bit of downbeat dream pop these days and Canadian band Freedom Baby deliver exactly that with their four song EP “How You’ll Grow”.
Some might say that four songs isn’t much by which to judge the quality and direction of a band but, when there is obvious consistency, the limited quantity isn’t really an issue and, yeah and verily, Freedom Baby – all nine of them – deliver the kind of polite musical meandering that has made festival favourites of their fellow countrymen Arcade Fire even if Freedom Baby’s musical approach is a rather more casual that favours emotional development over crowd pleasing posturing.
These four songs therefore pass sooner than you might expect of their extended running time and that is perhaps a testament to the band’s ability to portray both fragility and strength through song. As I said before, the name of the game here is consistency, but, if I had to, it would be wistful “Drag The Lake” that I would choose as the most appealing song here.
I thought about summarising Freedom Baby as merely downbeat dream pop with delusions of grandeur, but I think that would not encapsulate the mathematical precision that seems to be their trademark. Add in their affinity for the dramatic statement and Freedom Baby do actually end up being more than they seem.