FIDLAR
Almost Free
Release Date: Jan 25, 2019
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Garage Punk, Lo-Fi, Garage Rock Revival
Record label: Mom + Pop Music
Music Critic Score
How the Music Critic Score works
Buy Almost Free from Amazon
Album Review: Almost Free by FIDLAR
Very Good, Based on 6 Critics
Based on rating 4/5
The LA garage punks return with album three, an eclectic collection that combines thumping choruses with bracingly frank lyrics, reinvigorating their sound Met with universal acclaim, FIDLAR’s 2013 self-titled debut was a stonking collection of skate-punk bops about cheap beer and getting high. Follow up 'Too' carried through the scuzzy guitars and overdriven riffs, but lyrically was more developed, the album tackling weightier subject matter (such as frontman Zac Carper’s road to sobriety). Now, almost four years on, the garage rockers are back with album three, 'Almost Free', on which everything seemingly has changed, even if their essential songwriting elements remain in place .
Based on rating 7.5/10
Ever since the beginning of their career back in 2011, they've held a mighty punk fist in the air, clutching a can of beer, and flailed wildly, not giving a fuck who gets in the way. Carrying around a litany of influences - both musical and, ahem, chemical - FIDLAR are a rare band who can pull it off without any fleeting sense of contrition. Almost Free is FIDLAR barking wildly on chains threatening to break.
Based on rating B
Download | Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Radio Public | Stitcher | RSS The Lowdown: Almost Free, FIDLAR's third album, sounds almost foreign in comparison to its predecessors. However, that's not a bad thing by any means. The California-based quartet indulge in creative exploration by adding brassy flourishes and layered rhythms alongside their classic, foolproof combination of lyrical honesty and fun.
Based on rating 6.5/10
FIDLAR's last album, 2015's Too, began with frontman Zac Carper screaming that he'd never sell out--well, unless the price was right. Like all of his jokes, there was more than a hint of truth to the quip. But if there's a central takeaway from the testy Los Angeles skate-punk band's third album, Almost Free, it's that they wouldn't know how to sell out if they tried.
Based on rating 5/10
Taking the acronym that forms their name ("F*ck it dog, life's a risk") as a literal credo, L.A. garage punks FIDLAR try their best to evolve past the dumb but somewhat endearing slackery of their early days with Almost Free, their difficult third full-length. For a band whose primary themes involved getting baked, getting wasted, skating, and partying, the growing pains that come with trying to be taken more seriously are going to be tough.
Opinion: Fairly Good
If you're looking for the good ole' garage punk/grungy Fidlar, fair warning -- you've come to the wrong record. Almost Free takes quite a few steps away from the records prior and basically gives us a Cali-sound made for getting high on the beach and wasted at music festivals. Forget the head-banging and moshing, this album's for those who want to piss the night away in a hammock or chair, and wake up the next morning wondering what happened; so in short...
'Almost Free'
is available now