Actual Life (April 14 - December 17 2020)Fred again.. · 2021

loudandquiet

8.0

“Anyone who has heard Fred again..’s heart-rending love letter to the hedonism that Covid has stolen, ‘Marea (We’ve Lost Dancing)’, knows the gutturally deep emotional reaction he can extract with his studio surgery. That track is not included on the London producer’s debut album but it is as neat an encapsulation of the album’s premise as there could be: Fred has built each of these tracks from a ”

fantano

6.0

“Fred's talents as a producer are evident on AL3's brightest moments, but he's not quite there as an album artist yet.”

nme

6.0

“Two voice notes bookend the debut album by super-producer Fred Gibson, AKA Fred again... On ‘April 14 2020’, Fred says that “it’s Tuesday at 10pm and this is one of the best days of my life” across garbled pianos. On that day, 744 people were reported to have died in hospitals, attributed to complications from COVID-19, in the UK. By ‘December 17, 2020’, surrounded by whoops of joy, he’s still opt”

toomuchtimeonhands

10

“Fred again's first solo album is a true emotional and heavy album that hits home personally for me in all aspects. I'd say I wish I could listen to this album for the first time again but it truly never gets old, even upon my now 20 something listens. It's helped me through times of great stress and personal anxiety for that this review may seem relatively biased, so I'm just putting that there before anyone goes thinking it. Actual Life is a record that is essentially more or less more a deeply personal diary of the ups and downs of the covid-19 lockdown, and just that adds a whole other layer of beauty and raw human emotion to an already perfect and stunningly human album. There aren't many club-ready tracks in this album that you could fully dance or rave to, but Sabrina (I am a party) and Marea (We've lost dancing) would definitely be those high points, which are incredibly satisfying when played in the order of the album amongst the majority of tracks which are really chilled and blissful. Fred's talents as a producer are something else entirely, he may not use insane analog and modular synthesisers in this record, but to be able to convey the emotion that he does requires much more than musical hands on knowledge. It requires a soul and the ability to oversee everyday raw human feelings like no one else; and that is everything that makes up this record summed up to a tea. A true masterpiece and without a doubt my favourite album of all time. Top 3 Standouts: - Me (Heavy) - Carlos (Make It Thru) - Angie (I've Been Lost)”