Akron/Family

Akron/Family sparks a revival.

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More About

• Akron/Family
• Seth Olinsky
• Dana Janssen

When it comes to Akron/Family, expect the unexpected. The group boasts not one, not two, but three multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriters: Dana Janssen (who took part in a Q&A accessible at blogs.westword.com/backbeat), Seth Olinsky and Miles Seaton. Moreover, each member of the trio is so naturally eclectic that the tuneage on their latest album, Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free, is impossible to pin down. The opener, "Everyone Is Guilty," mashes together African rhythms and Beefheartian guitar skronk; "Creatures" blends art rock, psychedelia and drum-and-bass influences; "The Alps & Their Orange Evergreen" explores a gentle folk soundscape; and "Gravelly Mountains of the Moon" starts off in a pastoral mood before exploding at its midpoint into an ecstatic mélange of thunderous drumming, massed harmonies, twisted declarations and woozy brass. The results are widely varied as a result, but the mutability of the material constitutes an attribute, not a deficit. This is one Family that'll keep you guessing.