Dexter Freebish

A life of Saturdays would be an endless monotony of sleeping in and slacking. Dexter Freebish's album, Life of Saturdays, is in some ways the musical equivalent. The album kicks off with the highly touted single, "Leaving Town," a song that has managed to capture the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Contest as the Song of the Year. The tune is an above average melodic slice that manages to convey more than just the standard angst often found throughout the "alternative" music scene. The album then follows a rather slick, yet wholly indistinguishable path through its highs and lows. The band uses the standard rock band set-up (two guitars, bass and drums) and gets standard results. The production is first rate and the songs, at times, do offer up contagious choruses and searing guitar licks but something is anchoring this album to blandness. Their attempt to go beyond conventions on the album closer, "Bring me Water," turns out sounding contrived and worse, boring. Dexter Freebish, with the help of a big label, has put out an album that would fit into popular commercial radio without too much fuss.