Akron/Family “Love is Simple”

I think I was a little bit disappointed when I first listened to Akron/Family’s newest LP Love is Simple. I don’t know what it was, but it was lacking something. It had the sincerity, the compassion, and above all the not-so-simple simplicity of their previous albums, so what was it that I wasn’t feeling? Well after giving it a couple more listens, I think I’ve pinpointed the problem. The album wasn’t lacking anything, it was the mindset I was lacking. My mind was congested, I was preoccupied, and I was missing the point: love really is simple, and that’s basically all you need to know to fully appreciate this album.

This album is Akron/Family at their best, and I don’t think anybody would disagree with that. The heart-felt folk songs (“Love, Love, Love (Everyone)”) and experimental ethnic-influenced chants (“Lake Song/New Ceremonial Music for Moms”) are really what this album, if not Akron/Family in general, is all about. Bringing people together. With intricate tribal-like drumming, offbeat clapping and chanting, and electrifying experimentation in guitars and other gizmos and gadgets, it doesn’t take long for this album to break down the walls of reality and pull you right into the music itself.

Along with “Lake Song,” “There’s So Many Colors” really moves this album along into a different territory. A haunting blues riff carries us from the surreal Akron tribal chanting to a 60’s rock masterpiece. The album is topped off with the “Love, Love, Love 2 (Reprise)” picking right up where it left off with the intro track, “Go out and love, love, love, everyone” reminding us that unlike Love is Simple, love really is just that simple.