The world is spinning into a new dimension as soon as Al Doum and the Faryds unleash the opening riffs of “One With Nature.” Following up last year’s stellar Spirit Rejoin, the open ensemble dial up the exoticism to throw down an ecstatic gauntlet of spiraling psychedelia. Freaky People moves the island even closer to the sun with hypnotic dances beneath a shadow moon. This is the sound of life in our wildest dreams.
“One With Nature” infuses Afro-Latin polyrhythms and spiraling vocal layers to create a roiling stew of heat-blasted soundscapes. Basslines hop on the peaks of quickfire beats while the group offers its incantations to the sun. Saxophone blasts and dizzying guitar solos channel triumphant spirits by forming a wormhole to the distant past. There’s so much energy here that it’s infectious; our bodies demand we get up and move. Opening an album with a blitz like this is one hell of a statement.
The title track splits the difference, pushing a kaleidoscope of free-flowing bliss into the atmosphere like it’s oxygen. This music is a tent revival for lost dreams buoyed by the band’s exuberance and a mountain of songwriting talent. Everything on Freaky People is a puzzle piece, but Al Doum and the Faryds turn it on edge and stack those pieces straight to the sun.
Even in their more reserved moments, Al Doum and the Faryds are levitating. Mellow vibes stream through the laid-back cadence of “Universe pt. 1,” but it still sings in euphoric lightbeams. It’s a field of gossamer fireworks crackling to life. Closer “Woodstock” orbits the spiritual center that Al Doum and the Faryds are tethered to. Sinewy tangles of lilting saxophone notes glide effortlessly across the liquid tripped-out surface, vocal incantations tying hallucinogenic stars together into one giant, glorious aural orb. “Woodstock” is one hell of a place to be as Freaky People jams off into the distance.
Freaky People is a swirling trip full of rapturous anthems and sonic wizardry. Endless wonder and joy reach dizzying heights. Al Doum and the Faryds are glowing with elation and ebullience, the awe of intertwined lives twisting through across the astral plane into a place that’s brighter and more beautiful than ever imagined. With their mystic sonic enchantments, Al Doum and the Faryds are at the core of some kind of unexplained interdimensional expansion.
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