Freshly Ground/Take Me to the Dance/Freeground

Freshly Ground is a band that skillfully blends musical flavors from various genres into one cohesive sound. South African rhythms and vocals, surrounded by instrumentation that combines folk, easy rock, country, funk, electronica and pop. Indeed, all of these elements are ground together into a collection of songs that are fresh and refreshing. Violin, ukelele, acoustic and electric guitars nicely accompany the lead female vocalist's pleasant style.

Recommended: 1, 2, 3, 10

1. Chain Gang (3:35)
Nice midtempo drum beat develops into an easy rock bounce. Poetic words, sung in 2 languages. "When I woke up, there were flies around me." The pain of the lyrics is tempered by the pleasure of the melodies.

2. Everything (3:55)
Mellow mid-tempo track. Easy listening with a country rock feel. Soulful vocals and thoughtful lyrics.

3. Nomthandazo (4:08)
Nice blending of acoustic twang with electro-house and pop-synth sounds. African lyrics and soulful chants.

4. Not Too Late for Love (3:59)
Another mid-tempo easy rock bounce with electric funk flavors. Male and female vocals come together on this track. Very strong South African sound, most apparent in the guitar strums at 2:51, unto the song's end.

5. Take Me To The Dance (4:06)
Uptempo electro-house, suitable for any international dance club.

6. The Man Moves (3:20)
Mid tempo track opens with a nice drum beat, accompanied by guitar chords, for a modern rock feel.

7. Won't Let Go (4:14)
Slow ballad. Heartfelt lyrics, accompanied by pensive keys, acoustic guitar textures and a dramatic violin arrangement.

8. Mina Nobhiza (5:35)
Dancehall reggae, South African style. Soulful female vocals. Fun dialogue with male vocalist at 2:13. Nice flute solo at 3:28.

9. Dancing Baby (0:56)
Short, but pleasant interlude. Vocals in unison with flute and horns.

10. The Message (5:16)
Contemplative mid-tempo groove with thoughtful lyrics. An ode to the "people living under the bridge."

11. Leave a Light On (3:50)
Several transitions throughout this song, beginning with a twangy country melody that rocks progressively harder.

12. Shake It (Just Like You Wanna) 3:57
Uptempo electro-pop, South African disco groove, with Afrobeat characteristics and percussive vocals.

13. You Would Love (4:49)
Slow, rolling country groove that plateaus into a full-sounding, guitar-laden rock ballad. Nice interaction between the horns and violins.

14. Party Time (8:57)
Begins with weird chanting, but quickly morphs into an interesting mid-tempo groove. Playful female vocals throughout, with matching horn, keyboard and percussion sounds. Please note that this sing is shown as 8:57 in length, but the music technically ends at 3:20. A hidden reprise emerges at 8:23, but only 5 minutes of silence.