[Editor’s note: This review was originally published on Dec 31st, 2020 for BuriedOnMars.com]
Freeways are from Brampton, Ontario, an hour drive down the street from me and it took my friend, Matt Bandy from sunny Southern California to turn me on to them. Funny how music gets to us these days.
True Bearings is their debut album which was released this past April. The dream was to go see them live sometime over the summer and hope that they were selling True Bearings at the show. I’d do a blog post on the whole package, but Covid-19 had other plans.
I finally decided this month to take the plunge and scoop up a CD copy on their Bandcamp page as I did not want to wrap up the year without True Bearings in my collection.
Freeways is the best kind of throwback rock band. Fresh and classic. Their sound is hard rock straight out of the ’70s like Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Blue Oyster Cult, Budgie, maybe even a little Boston. I’m doing them an injustice by comparing them to these bands. Even though you can hear those influences, they really are their own thing.
The lineup includes:
Domenic Innocente – Guitar
Amar Amrite – Bass
Sebastian Alcamo – Drums
Jacob Montgomery – Vocals and Guitar
If the vibe they are going for is a hard-working Canadian band who delivers the rock without shenanigans, they got it nailed down. Not one member plays flashy or over the top. The guitar solos are sharp and concise. The rhythm section plays tight and to the point. The vocal melodies are down-to-earth. They get to it and rip heavy rock riffs.
And it works for them really well. They really are fantastic together.
My favourite tune on True Bearings is Dead Air. I’m a sucker for a bass intro and doubling lead guitars and this has both!
I also like the “It’s coming down… to the wiiiire…” chorus.
There is really no dog track on the disc. We are in EP territory with only 7 tunes clocking in at 33 minutes, but that is the advantage of taking the short and sweet route!
Check out the video for the opening track Eternal Light, Eternal Night. A blue friggin’ 1980 Trans Am! My dream car! It’s like they are speaking my langue.
And it is because they are. This is my kind of rock. Yup, another:
5/5
Picking an album of the year for 2020 is going to be tricky!
Canadian Grooves 