“DREAM DRONE FOAM”

Not quite sedated, not quite alert, The Freeways’ self-titled album feels like a lucid dream, featuring breathy, ethereal vocals against intentionally simple drumbeats. From the murky morning vibes reverberating between satellite waves on “Country,” to “Shake the Dope Out,” which whispers aggressive refrains over a nimble bassline, The Freeways singular sound hovers somewhere between croon and consciousness. This native Cambridge, garage psych-pop group is a hypnotic testament to the notion that less is more.

Even though Karen Zanes' alluringly unemphatic vocals stay fixed within a five-note range, if you’re into kicking back, you’ll be happy to hear more of the same from this consistently dreamy ensemble.

-Emily Hecht (Weekly Dig)

"Somewhat vaguely understated production values may be a deliberate but misguided attempt to evoke crude ’60s product. But Karen Zanes, with a vocal style somewhat reminiscent of Signe Anderson, fronts a band specializing in short songs evocative less of ’60s psychedelia than of the nouveau-psychedelia movement of the early 1980s. As such, many of the songs are appealing slices of that mind-manifesting genre. “I’ll Take It,” “Country,” and “End of Summer” are particularly successful in weaving an alluring spell."

- Francis DiMenno (The Noise)