A Hopeful Prayer to a Higher Power

Akron/Family makes a dynamic, experimental, wholly unpredictable indie-folk racket.

Kelly Schnetz

The New York band Akron/Family makes a dynamic, experimental, wholly unpredictable indie-folk racket, with influences as disparate as classic rock, psychedelic guitar, found sound and gospel. But in "Love and Space," Akron/Family parts with its other influences for a moment and puts its considerable vocal talent to work in a campfire spiritual. Each member sings the same verse with a slightly different inflection, contributing to a mass of interlocking voices singing a hopeful prayer to a higher power.

The band establishes an intimate atmosphere right away, with a soft countdown and a faint "shhh" in the background, as if the listener is intruding on a late-night choir practice. Using only their voices, Akron/Family's members create space and tension in a lovely chant, producing a hushed, pastoral effect. The song's warm sentiment comes packaged in an intoxicating sound, bolstered by angelic vocal harmonies that help Akron/Family transcend the "freak folk" label so often applied to the band and its peers.

Listen to yesterday's 'Song of the Day.'