Review: Freewill - All this Time

Label: Unity Worldwide Records

I never heard about FREWILL 'til this very year. They formed in 1987 to "blend their love of DC Hardcore and West Coast Melodic Punk", recorded a Demo and a Full Length and disbanded before the decade ran out. Somehow they started a comeback in the latter half of the 2010s to play some shows, possibly leading to some writing sessions. The result of all that is their second LP called "All this Time". 

Usually I'm no sucker for all those reunions and honestly, I was skeptic about this record, cause FREWILL's inital run happend long ago. Still, I gave it a chance and I'm pretty convinced now. Maybe it's because I got into this without any expectations or maybe it's because I'm getting older myself. It really doesn't matter though, cause these oldtimers out of Los Angeles do a solid job at fulfilling their old demands with a more grown-up approach.

After being a bit familiar with their whole discography now, I gotta say that "All this Time" is nowhere near as raw as their old stuff, but who would've bet against it?! Still, this revival didn't turn out as lame as other Punk-revivals of the past. FREEWILL know how to combine their different tastes. They indeed have some D.C.-spirit slumbering in their hearts. They take something from the more straightforward Dischord-groups of the mid to late 80s, namely speaking DAG NASTY, GRAY MATTER or SOULSIDE. Blending this kind of style with the fast'n'melodic edge of SoCal-Punk and the more grown-up Alternative-Rock- and near Radio-Rock-tendencies makes for a different listening experience in the year of 2021. 

The changes in pace and volume ensure some variety within a track and the lads definitely know how to write some punchy hooks. What kind of bores me in the long haul is the strict vers-chorus-vers-scheme. It's also the case that nearly every song clocks in at around 3 minutes and at times you get the feeling that the chorus premiers during the exact same time slot (mostly between 30 and 50 seconds into the song). FREEWILL have their formula and they run with it for 35 minutes long. You can like this predictability or not, it's up to you, but then again, they aren't the first Punk-band to operate in that kind of style. "All this Time" is a passable slap of Punk-going-Radio-Rock, nothing more and also nothing less.

Rating: 6 out of 10

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