- Tom Freund
Copper Moon
Surf Road Records (Santa Monica, CA)
By Zach Peterson
 Tom
Freund has an impressive resume. He has played in a duo with
Ben Harper, toured with The Silos and has references such as
Graham Parker (who calls Freund, next to Lucinda Williams, his
favorite working songwriter) and Victoria Williams praising his
work.
Copper Moon is Freund's third full-length release,
and the record is a culmination of Waitsian jive and SoCal singer-songwriter
fare with a stubborn pop sophistication. If this description
makes little sense, that's because you just have to hear it.
At first listen, I didn't make much of Freund's latest offering.
But after a couple more spins and a more a-tune ear, I found
a surprisingly clever, cohesive and subtly remarkable album.
Freund's voice is somewhere between a rougher-around-edges
version of Josh Rouse and a more forceful Joe Henry. Lyrically,
he falls between Rouse and Henry as well. In "C'est La Vie,"
Freund muses:
You want your space and eat it too
But look how far that's gotten you in the past
Not very far
Or take another example from "Married to Laughter":
She fares well in the quakes and the floods and the fires
They're part of her moods
Says her prayers to the man upstairs
But the one below intrudes
The mixture of sincerity and irreverence works a delicate but
steady balance throughout Copper Moon. Beginning with
the title track and ending with "New Moon of the 7th Sun,"
which features a tasteful string arrangement by Jerry Yester,
the 11-track record changes styles, but never gears. Freund handles
the majority of the production duties himself and brings an eclectic
dynamic to his lovelorn and road-weary lyricism.
The last verse of the final song, "New Moon of the 7th
Sun" reads:
Like a frozen river lets go of its icy bounds
I have come alive and run to the sound
Of your tune.
As the ice melts this spring, Tom Freund has a made another
record that challenges listeners to have the patience to hear
the subtle masterpieces this artist crafts.
www.tomfreund.com
Contact Zach Peterson at zapper-at-rockzilla.net
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