Absolutely Free: Interface
Layered vocals and synths help create widescreen psychedelia.
By Kerry Doole
Absolutely Free - Interface (Boiled Records): Absolutely Free was created from the ashes of much-respected Toronto experimental post-rock combo DD/MM/YYYY, and it made the Polaris Music Prize shortlist with its self-titled debut album.
A sophomore album, Aftertouch, will finally come out on Sept. 24, and Interface is the second excerpt to surface. In a press release, singer Matt King explains “it was written as a pseudo-love song that interludes between two versions of self. Interface recalls an adolescent summer where I spent every waking hour on early web-based chat programs, instead of going outside. Typical coming-of-age feelings of loss and confusion were further conflated by prioritizing an emerging potential of a new virtual identity more ‘real’ than a physical self."
Layered vocals and atmospheric synths help create a widescreen psychedelic aural landscape, and the cut is boosted by the eyeball-grabbing visual work of Australian artist Benjamin Portas in the accompanying video.
Absolutely Free features the core trio of Matt King (vocals/multi-instrumentalist), Michael Claxton (bass/synth), and Moshe Fisher-Rozenberg (drums/synth), while the upcoming album was produced by Jorge Elbrecht, who has worked with No Joy, Gang Gang Dance, Japanese Breakfast, and his own bands Lansing-Dreiden and Violens.
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PR: Ken Beattie, Killbeat
Rogers Stadium during a rainy walkthrough in 2025.Courtesy Photo