The Free Design - Stars / Time / Bubbles / Love

9.0 - USA - 1970

- Masterpiece -

Goddamnit world. When the Dedrick siblings dropped this, their fourth album, in 1970 it went, as was the case with their previous efforts, nowhere. Sure, sure, they've had a resurgence in this millenium what with the Stereolab namecheck and the usage of certain songs as cultural capital in certain TV shows and whatnot, but where were these accolades back in the late 60s and early 70s when the band could've used them? Don't blame me, man; I wasn't born yet. But if I had been, you could bet your ass that I'd be doing by utmost to send "Bubbles" up the single chart. As it were, however, the world didn't embrace this; the world fucked up. Fuck you, world.

Anyway, so The Free Design cast their sunshine pop pearls before the swine and we are all the better off for them having done so. This album is so unspeakably pretty that one can, perhaps, momentarily forgive the world for ignoring it as it is simply too beautiful to exist. Airtight harmonies over exquisite arrangements with just the right amount of jazzy flourishes (indeed, this is said to be The Free Design's funkiest album). Some might say this gets a bit too cloying in places (and actually, "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" is the only thing that doesn't really work here), but if you don't dig this, well, fuck you! Sure, there's an overly wholesome, Christian-hippy vibe going on here -- the band sounds somewhat like the Mothers of Invention as fronted by the Flanders Family glee club -- but if "Bubbles" and "Starlight" don't make you smile, there's something wrong with you.