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AKRON/FAMILY: Love Is Simple [Young God]

Rock fans squeamish with the hippie-adjacent aesthetic of the unfortunately named freak-folk movement will be weeded out quickly with Akron/Family’s second proper studio album. Which is a shame, because once you get past the Brooklyn quartet’s beatific call to “love, love everyone” in the opening (and closing) moments of Love Is Simple, the LP is an unpredictable and often euphoric collection with plenty to, well, love. (Even for those who just can’t accept any band that occasionally covers the Grateful Dead.) Akron/Family mixes unhinged enthusiasm with an almost shocking level of musicianship, most notably on seven-minute-plus epics “Ed Is A Portal” and “There’s So Many Colors,” the latter of which sounds like Crazy Horse on the commune circuit. Love Is Simple also makes stops for pretty back-porch folk, Beatlesque melodies and free-jazz excursions. While such stylistic ADD allows for some undeniably goofy moments (the mouth-trumpets punctuating “I’ve Got Some Friends”) and resin-coated lyrics pondering the differences between white and brown rice, it’s easy—and much more rewarding—to get caught up in Akron/Family’s exuberant spirit. [www.younggodrecords.com]

—Chris Barton