FREEWAYS is a band hailing from Brampton, Ontario. Their description on their Bandcamp profile describes them as 'the masters of mood', and truthfully, I can agree fully on that statement after hearing their first full length album "True Bearings". They create this nostalgic 1970s Hard Rock road trip from a summer night's breeze and some pitstops along the way, all the way to the destination by the end. All without actually mentioning any driving. These guys channel some great 70s and 80s Hard Rock with some undertones from THIN LIZZY and DEEP PURPLE among plenty other greats.

  

"Eternal Light, Eternal Night" opens the album with a breezy melody, like driving on an open freeway with the windows down on a summer night. The riff style is reminiscent of BUDGIE. "Sorrow (Was Her Name)" is a lot more angsty, like the summer night drive led you into a late night thunderstorm. You're frantically rolling up your windows and can't seem to get the wipers to swish fast enough to see. This song has some really cool melodic riffs with just a tinge of early metal in the solo portion. The title track "True Bearings" is the pouring rain letting up so you can keep driving, but the rain is certainly still trickling down the windshield. The melody in this song stays true to the 70s Rock feel; Domenic's voice is very much a blend of BOSTON and FOREIGNER, which gives their music a comforting feeling for me. "Dead Air" is that point on the freeway that you're in the middle of nowhere and there's no streetlights; just the moon to guide you. The rain is still spitting on the windows, but now the air is humid and still. This song sounds straight out of the 70s, from the chill catchy melody, to the awesome instrumental/solo portion that plays for most of the second half of the track.

 

"Battered & Bruised" is when you think you can relax again now that the rain stopped, but then the gas light comes on and you are looking for any sort of sign for a gas station. There's an emotional aspect to this track, the guitars are heavier, the pacing is slower and groovy. It reminded me a lot of BLUE OYSTER CULT. "Time is No Excuse" is that feeling when you're back on the road again, but feeling antsy to get to your destination. This track is rather bluesy, the beginning is dreamy. The chorus brings on more of a restless angry bite in great contrast to the verses. The solos on this track are fabulous, the dueling guitars in the Blues Rock style worked really well for them. The drums had some time to shine as well in this nearly 7 minute long track. "Survival" is the final track and I caught myself saying 'Aw, it's the last song already!?' This song is, of course, when you see the first sign for the exit you've been looking for. You still have a few miles to go, but you can feel the anticipation building in your chest. This song itself keeps it short & sweet, and true to the vibe they were aiming for; 70s Hard Rock done just right.

 

All & all, FREEWAYS did an excellent job bringing on the 70s to 80s pure Rock feeling to this album. The visuals of cruising down a highway were prevalent with the groovy melodies and 'turn on the cruise control' pacing of the songs. There's also a feeling of nostalgia weaved into every track because of this vibe they portray and I enjoy it a lot. This is a solid debut album for the band that I hope catches traction in the AOR and Classic Rock outlets; they do what they do exceedingly well.