Nik Freitas
Sun Down (Team Love)
By Emily Becker
Published: May 15th, 2008 | 9:00am
Sun Down is Nik Freitas' fourth full-length, and the follow up to the self-released Voicing the Hammers (2006). Freitas plays with his band the Headgates in LA when he's not playing solo, and has joined the touring bands of musicians like Jason Lytle and Jim Fairchild (both ex-Grandaddy) as well as Johnathan Rice. Sun Down's release coincides with a month's worth of dates opening for Rilo Kiley.
Fans of Freitas' previous efforts will be pleased with Sun Down, but he deserves to earn countless new converts as well. Although the instrumentation is largely flawless, it's Freitas' voice that gives the album its sense of purpose. He sounds remarkably like a young Paul Simon (on "Sun Down,"
and "It Ain't Like That"). Raised, as I was, on There Goes Rhymin' Simon, these are welcome similarities. Sun Down has the warmth of a gatefold vinyl LP purchased from the local (and likely defunct) record store. Even when he shoots for an anthem, and the lyrics become a little too repetitive, as on "Love Around," the sonorous vocals and gentle guitar hooks keep the song in check.
On "See Me There" Freitas describes the view from an airplane, "I saw things I'd already seen / But what a different view I had." Then the song descends into a "yeah yeah yeah" chorus that would be at home on any late-era Beatles record. His description fits the music he makes — none of it's new, but in Freitas' hands it's worthy of another listen. As the weather finally breaks for good, Sun Down should be enjoyed with the windows open.
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Nik Freitas' Web site
Issue #27
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