By — Jamil Oakford
South Dakota native Von Zimmer delivers Freddie’s Extra Teeth, a good effort that seemingly falls flat too fast.
The first two songs, “The End of the World” and “Echo,” are fun enough and nod back to that off-beat alternative rock scene the ’90s thrived on.
Zimmer’s music sounds like a mixture of Nirvana, R.E.M. and Smashing Pumpkins. While that might sound like a conflicting concoction of bands, it oddly works for Zimmer on each individual song.
With a rough, scratchy tenor, each song delivers its own quirky flair. A handful of tracks sound similar with maybe a slight chord variation and different instruments used.
But where Freddie’s Extra Teeth falls short is that listening to these songs doesn’t necessarily strike a favorable chord together.
This album isn’t as exciting to listen to all together, but if a listener decides to mix individual songs onto a playlist for studying, cleaning or reading, it’s not so bad.
It’s hard to figure out why these songs don’t work when played consecutively. There just doesn’t seem to be any songs that jar the listener out of mindlessly listening to it as background music.
When some songs sound vaguely similar, it’s hard not to treat as background noise.
It’s probably best listened to as a full album if it’s played during a study period or as background music.
Some album highlights would be “Where Were You” because there’s a mean cowbell, the album’s final track “Tragic Fall From Grace,” which features some of Zimmer’s best vocals and an Eagles reference, and “Mystery Men,” which features the soft touch of a piano.
Freddie’s Extra Teeth is currently available for purchase and can be streamed on YouTube, Soundcloud and Apple Music.
