Customer Reviews

Freedom Wind

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These South Carolina dudes have made an outstanding Brian Wilson influenced album. This new band has taken all the great things I loved about the Beach Boys and 60's California soft pop, and given this classic sound a modern indie pop twist. Theres been hundreds of Beach Boys tributes over the years, but only a few have been able to capture the sound and spirit of the original group and their music.

Traces of The Apples In Stereo, REM, ELO, Paul McCartney (Wings era), Jimmy Webb, Phil Spector, Buffalo Springfield, Curt Boettcher, The Association and The Turtles also pop up.

Great hook-filled songwriting, tight harmonies (sadly lacking in most modern rock) with smart production and arrangement skills. They honestly add nothing new to this sound, but they all have youth on their side (they are in their early-mid 20's) and the Club amazingly makes it all sound fresh and cool again. It's far from your usual "oldies" tribute band stuff.

If you love the "boys" and classic 60's soft pop you'll be right at home with the Explorers Club.

This is a special find.
"The vocal group sound is an American art form that is becoming a forgotten part of our heritage", wrote Jay Warner in the preface to his 1992 edition of `The Billboard Book of American Singing Groups'. As a UK collectors group that has tracked and documented the career of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons it seems totally appropriate for us to continue Jay's good work and to devote blog space to preserving and informing re other great `harmony' groups from the 60s. "
The Explorers Club prove that the harmony sound will never die
I grew up with the harmony groups of the 60s and hearing this group made me realize the legacy the harmony groups and artists have left for future generations. This group may sound like the Beach Boys at times but they have their own style with all the influences mentioned by other reviewers.
We will be featuring this album at our blog site as today's `Harmony' Heroes.
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Fantastic stuff guys.
....... from the Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society

Seriously, this album is incredible! The Beatles and Beach Boys are obvious influences, but so are the Mamas & Papas, the Byrds, the Zombies, Glen Campbell, the Bee Gees, the Association, and Emmit Rhodes.

Songs like "Don't Forget the Sun," "Freedom Wind," "I Lost My Head," are classic pop songs as good as anything that would have been a huge radio hit in the 1960s or 1970s. And how about them having the balls to do an instrumental, "Summer Air," something most bands don't do anymore, and it's in a 6/8 time signature, which is just perfect. If you don't have Freedom Wind you're missing out on a great pop record.

Fresh new harmony from South Carolina. This album is pure joy to listen to. If you love hooks and melody with a tight rock sound, this is the CD of the summer.

Sometimes an artist is so creative and so innovative that he brings into existence a whole genre rather than just a "sound." And when the artist is distinctive as Brian Wilson at his peak, some see it as "stealing" when someone else wants to explore the world he brought into being. In other words, sure, this record wouldn't exist without PET SOUNDS-era Beach Boys, but I see nothing wrong with the Explorers Club playing so cleverly in the sandbox he built. FREEDOM WIND was one of the albums I listened to more than any other that year. Looking much forward to the next.

Closest group to the Beach Boys style I have found. They capture the feel from every era. Also nice that they are a current band that still tours

it's the album Brian Wilson wishes he could still make, rather than rehashing "Smile" which should have been put out back in the '60's but wasn't, so sad, a missed opportunity, don't try to reclaim the fame now, you missed it.

I've read reviews where people accuse the Explorers Club of "ripping off" the Beach Boys. Well, maybe... But the Beach Boys aren't really making music anymore. It has been good practice in indie rock for the past decade or so to wear your Beach Boys influence on your sleeve. Unfortunately, it gets thrown too often in the mix with post-emo backwash, obnoxious "cutesy" pop, or other ultra-modern influence.
I love these guys (and their album) because they get it. They don't water it down. They come at you with all the beautiful sounds of the Beach Boys, but also with all the tacky early 70s quirks that make you wonder where Pet Sounds came from. I would definitely say there has been a lack of tribute to the "creepy era" Beach Boys. I've heard "Summer Days" in almost every indie rock record in the past 5 years. I want to hear "Surf's Up" now, and the Explorers Club has it.

This is the best 60's style harmony pop I've heard in years, so if you're into Brian Wilson/the Beach Boys, the Association, the Turtles, Jan and Dean, the mellower side of the Beatles, etc. this one is for you. And let's just hope The Explorers Club releases another CD soon.

But the Beach Boys in their Pet Sounds era! What more could you ask for? The harmonies are wonderful, but they even have the instrumentals down as well. This is like finding a lost album, or finding out Brian Wilson wrote even more than he delivered in 'Smile.'
On the other side, they do have a couple of songs where they bring out their own sound, which has a little bit of an edge to it, vocally. Highy recommended, and I can't wait for a follow-up.