JARON FREEMAN-FOX AND THE OPPOSITE OF EVERYTHING play Tuesday (March 12) at Lula Lounge. See listing. Rating: NNN
There’s no denying violinist and multi-instrumentalist Jaron Freeman-Fox’s talent, nor his spirit of musical adventure. While some musicians pigeonhole themselves into tiny sub-genres, Freeman-Fox blows away all walls.
The local musician is in full experimentation mode on his mostly instrumental self-titled sophomore disc with his band, mashing up bluegrass, jazz, classical, klezmer and a bit of punk. His debut album was a beautifully executed instrumental travelogue, but this time around he adds edgy, aggressive lead vocals to a handful of covers (Soozi Schlanger’s Burnin’ Sun, Holiday Rambler’s Dogwood, a weird take on the Doors’ People Are Strange) as well as to his own Back To The Boonies.
It’s a wild, whimsical album, so it’s a welcome moment when he slows down on classically informed Clarity even though he soon picks things up again on island-boogie-flavoured Flabbergasp.
Top track: Clarity
