How much longer can we (LIVE)…if we’re only an (IMAGE)? That’s the question Freak Genes (FG) pose in their new album Hologram. Put down your electric scriber. Answers on wax only. Discover the difference between manifest and (MIRAGE), solid and (SHAPELESS), real and (INFORMATION_REDACTED).

But here is what we actually know: Freak Genes are Charlie Murphy (LIFE_FORMS, GAMMA, FRESH_SPECIMEN, ISOLATION) and Andrew Anderson (PROTO_IDIOT, KAKE?). Hologram is their (FIFTH) album. The (LABEL) is Feel It Records. The playing length is (INFORMATION_REDACTED). There are (THIRTEEN) tracks.


Our take: Five albums in and when I drop the needle on a new Freak Genes record I still don’t know what to expect, beyond a bunch of synthesizers and ambitious, wide-ranging songwriting. Hologram feels even more eclectic than their previous records, touching base on styles Freak Genes has dabbled in before (like the Jay Reatard-esque “Strange Charm” and “Spiderweb,” or the creepy, Screamers-ish “DNA”), but continuing to push at the edges of their sound. “New Crime” is an upbeat dance track with super catchy synth arpeggios, “Swimmers” is a moody and spacey meditation a la 154-era Wire, and tracks like “Hologram” and “Among the Drain” take surprising left turns, both of them wandering off into art rock land in their latter sections. While a more consistent approach might make it easier for listeners to latch on to Freak Genes, those of you who like following the picaresque musical adventures of folks like Jake Roberts of Alien Nose Job, John Dwyer of the Oh Sees, and Ty Segall will enjoy keeping tabs on Freak Genes’ continuing musical adventures.