It is safe to say singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw delivered a solid album once again. Although much more subdued than past albums, such as Chariot and Gavin DeGraw, Free still provides fans and music lovers alike with an honest, high-quality set of songs.
Unlike DeGraw's major hits ""Chariot"" and ""I Don't Want to Be,"" the tracks on Free sound a lot less commercialized and produced. This different concept infuses the music with an earthy component. Most of the songs are merely accompanied with a piano, keyboard or guitar and soft percussion. The acoustic pieces will convert easily into intimate, live performances.
The album did not take as much time to put together as past albums. As a result, the songs project a very candid sensation. DeGraw portrays the emotion of music as instinctive sentiment. The moment the song's meaning unravels itself to the artist is the same moment it is captured in the essence of the songs. The whole project suggests the attempt to encapsulate tunes the way they should be experienced—live.
The stripped-down album gets back to what's important in the first place: the lyrics and music. And, in DeGraw's case, simple is better. There is something very vulnerable about his sound. He exposes his thoughts so openly and honestly that it feels like he is reading his diary—you know you shouldn't be listening, but you still can't help it. This approach refreshingly contrasts with the wide variety of music today that over-generalizes situations.
The first two singles from Free provide a good preview of what the rest of the album offers. In ""Dancing Shoes,"" a song he wrote as a teenager, the only instrument present is a running piano. The other single, ""Stay,"" is a great example of the vulnerability he shows this time around. When DeGraw sings, ""I need your lovin' arms at night / But it never hurt this much / You don't have to be part of the problem / I just need a second chance,"" it proves this sincerity of his sound.
The track ""Glass,"" about a man admitting he made a woman fall in love with him without loving her back, and the airy track that inspired the album's name, ""FREE,"" contribute the album's strongest lyrics. ""Indian Summer"" emerges as the most produced song with electric guitar riffs throughout. DeGraw's country side also shines through on ""Indian Summer,"" but ultimately spoils what would have been better as a pop song. However, ""Waterfall,"" with a liquid melody that drips with tranquility, also contrasts DeGraw's normal sound, but this time with more success.
Free epitomizes music captured in the moment by welcoming pieces that thrive when played live. The earthy, uncomplicated method differs from how DeGraw normally works, but the album still includes the profound lyrics typical of this talented artist. Following the pleas of his first hit single, DeGraw is certainly nothing he doesn't want to be on Free.
