• Band / Artist : Fred
• Genre : Pop / Rock
• Sample Track Download : Good Night
• Buy CD : Buy
• Buy Digital Download : N/A
• Rating : 7.5 out of 10

I first need to get a confession off my chest (quite apt really, read on). I first heard the track Good Night on the Catholic Insider Podcast. I missed the pre-amble announcing the track and thought it was Father Roderick singing the lead (well you never know, with all the other things he’s doing). It was only when I heard another track and the same initial track again that I found out the name of the band was actually Fred.

So what of the album. If you could harvest happiness into an album, it would sound something like Sound Awake. The band manages to combine upbeat tempo and suitably bouncy lyrics to make a quite fun, happy album. However there is one big black mark against the album, which comes from the track F**k You Stars (yes that is me censoring the title). This is one of most unwise tracks, I think I have ever seen included on an album. It’s not that swearing offends me, it’s just that the track sticks out like a sore thumb from the rest of the album. This would be a great family album, my kids loved it until that track. The older ones look at me quizzically and the younger ones thank good are too young to understand.

With all that aside though, this is still a great album (parental warning aside). It’s an album that doesn’t fail to raise a smile with it’s infectious sound.

Conclusion : If you have kids or are easily offended, maybe this isn’t the album for you. For anyone else after some catchy pop, this maybe what you’re looking for.