Fans of Tom Petty will find musical comfort in singer-songwriter Tom Freund’s new album, East of Lincoln, available September 7. It’s a mix of genres with punctuations of gospel, folk, and country, but at its heart and soul, it is pure classic rock that delivers relatable, engaging tunes that sometimes conjure the late, great musician.
The album comes as a follow-up to Freund’s highly acclaimed 2014 album, Two Moons. Over the span of his long career, Freund has released over a dozen records, collaborated with high-profile artists like Elvis Costello and Jackson Browne, and played bass for alt-country group the Silos. In 1992 he released a collaborative record, Pleasure and Pain, with friend Ben Harper, which launched both of their careers. In 1998, he made his solo debut with North American Long Weekend to critical acclaim.
Twenty years later comes the 11-track East of Lincoln, whose highlights include the positive-energy-and-organ-fueled opener, “Angelus”; the ’90s-style dreamy rock tune “Runaround”; the “gentle, rootsy” (Billboard) title track; the bluesy “Poached Eggs”; the gritty, outlaw-friendly “Hair of the Dog”; and the beautiful, slow piano tune “Brokedown Jubilee.”
Freund, who says he writes music out of necessity, told Billboard he did the songs on this album as a “personal healing process.”
This record speaks to me as a performer /artist/producer and as my own life coach (haha, but it’s true). I got a lot of “notes to self” here on these songs. Although it may appear melancholy there’s always a light at the end of my tunnel. Records are rites of passage and markers in time, a place in life, and I am truly into this portrayal of myself here on East of Lincoln. I think sonically it aroused me in new ways and got new things out of me that I hadn’t tried before, and I like the….READ MORE