Home > Music > CD Review > Nik Freitas, 'Sun Down'

Nik Freitas, 'Sun Down'

Low-key, sun-soaked pop for a lazy summer day

By Matt Pais

Metromix
May 5, 2008

Critic's Rating:

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Backstory: This likable California up-and-comer writes, plays, engineers and produces records all on his own. "Sun Down" is Freitas' fourth full-length, though seven of the new record's songs were previously released on 2007's "Shoe Bee Do Bop" EP.
 
Why you should care: The kind of accessible singer-songwriter who still offers his personal email address on his Web site, Freitas can't avoid inviting comparisons to Paul Simon and Bob Dylan, but there are plenty of worse people to emulate. His songs are sensitive yet occasionally dramatic, with quiet, down-tempo ballads like "What You Become" softly asking for your attention rather than demanding it.
 
Verdict: Even the bigger arrangements—like the live horns and "Hey!" chants on "Sophie"—still feel intimate and endearing, a testament to Freitas' restrained command of his strengths. "Sun Down" is the kind of album that's difficult to dislike but possibly just as hard to fall in love with. Your taste for simple stuff like "Love Around" depends on your tolerance for pure, unfussy optimism, though the multi-layered instrumentation throughout mostly prevents Freitas from becoming too gentle to make an impression. (Closing number "Shhhh" might put you to sleep, but that may be intentional.) While "Sun Down" may not sound as good once summer and fall have passed, for now it's a set of pleasant, relaxing tunes for laying in the grass and forgetting winter ever happened.
 
X-Factor: The press release summary of "Sun Down" explains that, "There is no reaching, no going for the gold, just ten lovely four-minute thesis statements." There you have it.