Broke For Free had an album on the horizon over eight months ago, and after endless polishing and adjusting, the Oakland-based act has finally blessed us with his fourteen-piece project entitled Petal. We’ve already pointed his live instrumentation techniques, and amidst those, some unique textures, but Petal is a lot more than just its veneer coating. From its onset, “Golden Hour” gives off a rather destressing aura, escorting you to a snug surrounding before going on to nudge you into the episode of Tom Cascino’s (BFF) voyage through an exhibition of instruments. The hammock awaits on “Summer Spiffs”, “Melt”, and “Tropicks”, as Tom effortlessly jams his way into three unbuttoning pieces; and with vintage snares, and raw, acoustic drums, its time to set aside any animosity in the air. Other efforts like ”XXV and Juparo” we’ve already had the pleasure of reviewing, but in the context of the album (and the transition from the preceding pieces), they’re definitely worth indulging in again. Throughout Petal, Tom finds a way to usher in his distinct take on the season, choosing to include a pondering yet relaxing mood that permeates through and almost forces you to lose sense of time altogether. To recapitulate this claim, “Feel Good”, “A Beautiful Lie”, and “Add And” serenely outline an untouched yet ideal spot, and with subtle summer synths, improvised drums, and unpredictable percussive additions, all you have to do is just dive in without a single doubt. With all these summer-inspired, mediative pieces, Tom rolls in a couple pieces with a fervent tone , and as we know, many a time we tend to decipher music through titles as well. “Heart Ache”, “Solitude” and “Love Is Not” are the such that fall into this category, and Cascino generates faintly poignant vibes on his ever-improvising techniques with longing vocal cuts, deep bass inclusions, and sudden melancholic patterns. By now, you’re quite immersed and probably notice that BFF hasn’t created fourteen short pieces, either, as most cross that four-minute mark, except for the final one, which makes an ideal outro. “Miel” is this closing track, and though it emits a somewhat gloomy vibe, it evolves as Tom plays his way into transforming the plucky piece, as if he was changing his actual mood on the spot. The result is an ambient masterpiece to finish off the project, and, after finding our favorites below, you can revel in it all again and again on Bandcamp.
Broke For Free