Free and Easy has elements of Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Low, Smog and the For Carnation. Auckland-based guitarist Oscar Dowling embarks on his debut solo album, leaving his deepest emotions laid bare across the table. The former New Gum Sarn member has created a subdued guitar record in the great indie tradition of his homeland. One that leads into the abyss, tantalising with heartbreak and his unsettling bitterness towards life and death. Influenced heavily from the identity of his country and battling with "my own identity, falling in love, anxiety and mental illness, friends, family and enemies to name a few". Free And Easy was recorded and mixed with Ben Lawson at The Red Bull Studios in Auckland. The album features local luminaries Steven Huf, Will Wood, Mason Fairey, and Sam Hamilton. Whether soaked in Oscar's melancholy voice and warped out guitars, (Sally Free and Easy), or accompanied by a delicate piano (Low Moon) or the jarringly raw (Ease My Passing) each track paints a vivid picture of Oscar's life. Title track (The Life) is best at transcending this portrait of the hardship of life with an entrancing melody line and ruthless lyrics, those lyrics severing as a medium for "understanding subjects such as death and love" and finding comfort in writing about his relationship with mental health, the outcome being "very therapeutic."
