Freddy Charles might be the most productive and accomplished artist that you might have never heard of, and with a new, sprawling album release, running 17 songs for a whopping 90 minutes, it seems that we all have all we need to start diving into Freddy’s illustrious back catalog.
Freddy is a Los Angeles based, multidisciplinary musician whose varied spheres include singing, songwriting, playing guitar, drums, and production. All The Will Is Gone, taken from his latest album ‘The Tower’ gives a revealing glimpse into the musical universe of Freddy Charles. What hits home first is the pristine quality of the production. Multiple guitar layers, all with tasteful reverb, intertwine with the minimal, supportive drum line and sparse bass notes. The main rhythm guitar track shows Freddy as an artist who clearly understands the concept of restraint, making the part sound rich and expressive and with sublime effortlessness. The vocal delivery is heartfelt and the voice is organic and suitably strained, showing anguish, which is on par with the lyrics, and also showing control. The lyrics speak of a protagonist whose life is falling apart, not able to feel a thing, and with everything going wrong, he wants to disappear, knowing for certain that he is unlovable, until in the end we get a glimpse of hope as Freddy exclaims that he knows what need to be done, and that is not running away, before we are left with a tasty clean guitar solo that’s equally restrained, colorful, and minimal, that lasts until the song takes its final breath.
Whether the songs ties in conceptually with the rest of the album will require a listen to the entire album, but on its own, All The Will Is Gone is a perfectly standalone hero’s journey that ties in on itself quite nicely. Totally self produced, Freddy’s efforts are commendable and his talents are noteworthy, and with 11 album releases under his belt, there seems to be tons to be explored from this extremely productive and under appreciated multi talented artist.
