The Explorers Club Freedom Wind by: Justin Pearsall Mon:12-May-08 Label: Dead Oceans Year: 2008 WB rating 79 out of 100

There is but one simple question when evaluating the merit of The Explorers Club debut album, Freedom Wind: how much can an album really achieve when it sounds like such a blatant rip-off of The Beach Boys?

From the Brian Wilson-esque enunciations of ‘Forever’, to the Pet Sounds aspirations of ‘Don’t Forget the Sun’ and ‘Do You Love Me’s cascading chorus harmonies, The Explorers Club are unsettlingly accurate at mimicking their idols. In fact, for close to ninety percent of the album, The Explorers Club sound more like The Beach Boys than The Beach Boys or Brian Wilson have in the last 40 years – Smile is purposefully included in this comment because its eccentricity and solo project status, while brilliant, doesn’t really align with the true reality of The Beach Boys (and even this period is reflected by Freedom Wind’s ode to ‘Heroes and Villians’, ‘In the Country’).

Such a precise recreation makes for a familiar and easily enjoyable experience, each composition reflecting a different face of The Beach Boys’ identity. While initial listens will most probably feature a type of musical gag-reflex response to such shameless copy-catting, future spins find the songs burying deep into the conscious and, like a guilty pleasure, Freedom Wind has a tendency to linger in the CD player far longer than something so plainly derivative should.

But there will always be a ceiling to an album’s achievements when it fails to expand or alter a musical blueprint – particularly one as beloved and timely as ‘60s pop. Sadly for The Explorers Club, and us the listeners, the feat of originality is not one of the talents they possess. For most of the record the band do not even pretend to be anything more than an updated covers band and when they do attempt leftward movement – as in the Oasis-meets-John Lennon album closer ‘Freedom Wind’ or the Oscar the Grouch grunt of the verses to second track, ‘Honey, I Don’t Know Why’ – the results are among the most unappealing moments of the record.

If Freedom Wind were Brian Wilson’s new album then the praise and plaudits would be heavily heaped. But because this is not Brian Wilson – instead being six guys from South Carolina who signed to Dead Oceans last year – we are forced to judge this album as a faithful, immaculate aping of a musical era long gone. While the majesty of this recreation is enough to guarantee the album replay value and a better-than-average score, there is no question that if The Explorers Club hope to become a band of serious artistic weight they have to ascend their influences and reach some level of individuality. There undeniable song crafting nous and impressive musicianship suggests this is possible, but nothing in Freedom Wind’s songwriting indicates that the growth from good to great is likely.