Free Spirit - Free Yourself 7"

Trust your gut, not your head.

A while back I decided to be a little more responsible with my money. I wanted to be more selective when buying music and following bands. You can't buy everything every good label puts out. I also wanted to start checking out bands online to hear how they sounded instead of ordering sight unseen just because it was released on a certain label or had members in the band from other bands I liked. Like I said, be responsible.

I remember like it was yesterday. Staring at the computer monitor looking at the Free Spirit - Be Yourself 7" order page on Triple B Records' web store.
Either an email or post on a message board went up about it and I went over to check it out. I knew there was a lot of buzz around the band due to their demo. I hadn't heard it myself, mainly because I have a hard enough time keeping up with new bands and I also live 4000 km away from Boston. Pretty tough to pick up a cassette.

I had two copies of the 7" in my shopping cart and at the last second, I decided to pass. You know, be responsible.

Well fast forward a few months, and I get the chance to see the band live. Well, I think it was the band. Free Spirit were one of the Boston hardcore bands playing at Chaos in Tejas along with Mind Eraser, Rampage, Rival Mob and Step Forward. It was like musical chairs on stage with guys swapping instruments and calling it a new band. I swear I saw the same guy on stage play guitar or bass for every one of these bands! I'm only kind of exaggerating.

Anyway, I see them live. I like them. I want to buy their record.

Of course by this point, it's sold out at BBB and every other distro. I am forced to go the ebay route, overpay due to the number of bidders trying to snipe each other at the last minute, and spend more on postage alone than if I would have just bought the records in the first place when I had the chance. Like I said, gut - head.

The record itself was joint released on BBB and Lockin' Out. It came on two colors.

Clear vinyl out of 300.

Red vinyl out of 700.

The record also comes with a pretty big glossy black and white insert/lyric sheet.

Music wise, Free Spirit aren't really reinventing the wheel. Very competently played, fast posi-hardcore with a kind of fuzzed out guitar sound and gruff aggressive vocals. Plenty of breakdowns and mosh parts. Seven songs in under seven minutes. That should give you an idea of what's up.

It's a really good record. I'm glad I have it now. I just wish I would stop screwing up to get here.