Touch Upon Touch: A Quick Review Of The New Album From Too Free

The music of D.C. trio Too Free builds upon generations of synth-pop and funk. The tunes here on the group's new record, Love in High Demand, out on Sister Polygon on Friday, pulse and pop with the kind of energy that's sorely lacking in most indie-pop these days. In fact, even using that term to describe what's here is doing this stuff a real disservice as, really, this is fresher and more lively than nearly anything else you're going to hear in 2020.

"Elastic" is retro, snatches of early Prince peeking through the Human League-like keyboard hooks here, while "Touch Upon Touch" is more intense. On this one, things veer into the kind of territory that was once mapped by Fad Gadget, though this is more straightforward funk than anything Tovey cranked out. Similarly, "Breathing Underwater" hits a similar sort of groove, blending washes of keyboards with the smooth vocals of Awad Bilal to offer up something that's both modern and old fashioned. Still, for the pieces here on Love in High Demand which conjure up a distinct mood, the brighter numbers here, like "Gold", are the ones which ring in the ear and make this release such a success.

Love in High Demand is out on Sister Polygon on Friday.

[Photo: Emily Geller]