Right out of Bordeaux we have a brilliant lo-fi Garage band called Th Da Freak. They’re a big deal. A huge deal, and really are one of France’s bands. These guys along with Dr Chan and Dusty Mush are out of this world. They all make this exceptional lo-fi music that just speaks to you and makes the day easier.

 Aside from releasing their latest EP at the end of January just gone, Th Da Freak have a respectable collection of releases that are really worth investing in, and getting lost in. For me they’ve the same energy of say, Wavves. There’s this summertime feel to the sound, and if you’re surrounded by grey skies and the like, then this band are going to fix you right up and get you to ignore what’s going on outside. Twisted is a killer song, it’s got this beautiful energy to it and the sheer deliverance of this song just makes you want to trash stuff, waste the day away and do whatever the hell you feel like doing. In fact, the whole record and their songs in general have this atmosphere to them. You can imagine hanging out at the beach listening to this or wandering round late at night looking for something to do out of boredom, but their sound is anything but boring. Essentially, Th Da Freak is one guy but performs with a band. He does all this pretty much himself, and that DIY feel is throughout everything he does.

 Hola Todos EP is great record and if you’re someone who hasn’t really paid much attention to the band before then it is a great place to start. Work your way backwards and let yourself become invested in their music. The energy they have on this record is incredible and if you do go back and listen to previous releases, you will definitely hear the growth in their sound. It’s like they’ve had a huge growth spurt on this record. It just makes you really excited to hear more from them and to probably become obsessed with them.

 Fear is a 5-minute riot. It’s powerful and probably a song to really absorb given the state of the world right now. Find your safety net where you can. Take a nap. Take a load off. Right after Fear they go right into the fuzzy sounding Bumfuzzle which may be one of the best named songs I’ve heard in a long time. This one sounds like how I’d imagine an acid trip to sound in someone’s head. Everything being heightened and colours appearing in your mind, slowly turning to shapes that you can no longer make out. I’ve got an overactive imagination at times, and I think that shows it right there. Anyway, it’s a great song. It’s noisy and if you want to annoy your neighbours or whatever, play this one loud. They’ll think something weird is happening and maybe try to get involved.

 Th Da Freak are a pleasure to listen to, and aside from this EP they’ve got tones of releases to really spend time on. Their record from 2019, Still Freakin’ Out is so great! It’s Just A Trip has this sort of Beach Boys feel to it mixed with something out of this world, the whole record has this feel and it’s such a joy to listen to. It shows his vocals in a totally different way. Th Da Freak makes the kind of music to just lounge about to and to really enjoy. The music is more mellow prior to Hola Todos but don’t let that fool you; it’s all part of the charm.

Hola Todos is out right now! Get yourself a copy and beg Th Da Freak and his band to do a UK tour. But maybe after all the coronavirus stuff dies down first though.