The Freeks – Studio/Live II

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · April 2, 2025

The Freeks are a heavy psychedelic rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 2007 by Ruben Romano, who was also the founding member of both stoner rock legends Fu Manchu and Nebula. Romano initially played guitar and sang for The Freeks on their early releases. The current lineup of the band consists of: Ruben Romano on drums, Jonathan Hall on lead guitar, Ray Piller on bass, Robert Tripp on keyboard, synth oscillator, and Jason Huebner on vocals. They have five full length albums including: 2008’s Self Titled, 2013’s Full On, 2016’s Shattered, 2018’s Crazy World, and their latest 2025’s Studio/ Live II. They also released a couple of singles and EPs. Studio/ Live II was released on Glory Or Death Records on February 21st 2025, and contains sixteen tracks total, clocking in around one hour and seven minutes.

I remember following The Freeks when Romano left Nebula back in 2007-2008. I enjoyed their music but lost touch with the band throughout the years. I was happy to hear that Romano returned to the drum kit because I really love his playing style. They have had their share of different lineups throughout the years with former Monster Magnet/ The Atomic Bitchwax guitarist Ed Mundell playing with them briefly and Tom Davies (R.I.P.) from Nebula playing bass, at some point too. I really enjoy Studio/ Live II a lot and think Jason Huebner is a very fitting vocalist for the band.

“Real Gone” opens up the record with a grand slam of psychedelic rock greatness. The low end bass and drums starts things off with some textured keyboards resonating into the mix. The guitars join in with a nice gritty sound of fuzz that has a garage rock feel and tone. Huebner’s vocals fit right in and the band are jamming away. Swirls of synth permeates the background and the bass and drum groove repeats for the whole track, while the guitars are spacing off with psychedelic leads. “Played For Keeps” is a banger! It’s a riotous rocker with all the groove that elicits a dance floor meltdown. It has a very catchy rhythm and vocals that want to make you move. The third track, “Heliotropic Phenomenon” is a quick minute and a half instrumental of funky atmospheric music wankery that fades out rather quickly. “Arrives Tonight” really cranks in the wah guitar funk and has such an infectious rhythm and groove to the song. The blues induced guitar leads are met with squalls of mind bending psych. It’s a great track filled with cool vocals and noisy rocking bliss.

“Jaqueline Can’t Decide” is another roller coaster rocking song that has a garage style tone and explodes into a fuzzy array of scattered psychotropic craziness. The guitars are screaming on this one and the bass grooves are dynamic. “Hypnotize My Heart” has an aggressive edge to the vocals with the music flowing through a rhythm of overdriven melodies and uproars. The next track “American Lightning” fades in with feedback and cranks into a heavy psych rocker with a raw and reckless sound of the early seventies Stooges or something along those lines. It’s a blazing track filled with that raging energy. The Freeks then break out a cover of “Stepping Stone”, which would even make the Monkees envious. It’s a punk fused rocker that really fits the vibe and sound of this album. “Weirdness” erupts next with a hardcore angst. The yelling vocals sound pissed and are up high in the mix. The music is stellar with its exploration of abraded tones and psychedelic screams and screeches. The tenth track called “Car Hiss By My Window” marks the end of the studio songs on Studio/ Live II. It’s a bludgeoning blues number through and through. It’s a nice transition from the faster and frenzied tunes that The Freeks have been hammering since the beginning of this album. The leads are fierce and really capture the bluesy vibes that this track is putting out there.

“On The Porch” begins the bonus tracks with an airy clean guitar strumming that lasts about a minute and a half. It is positioned like an introduction for the next five tracks which I believe, starts the live in the studio jams. “She Left Me Burning” is a scorching track of high amplified rock goodness. It’s doused with heavy psych and burns on for over six minutes. Halfway through the song, the shredding guitar leads appear and The Freeks are ripped and rolling. The excellent explosion of drum fills breaks up the sections beautifully each time they run through the chorus part. “Wag The Fuzz” is another quick jam of psychedelic freak outs. The next track entitled “Starstream” is the longest cut on the album. Beginning with clean guitars, the song gets painted with psych and stays fairly tame for the duration. It breaks out into some textures of ambiance but returns to mellow as it reaches the final eleven minutes and thirty seconds.

“Yesterday’s Sweetheart” is a nice vintage rocker drenched in mind altering riffs and freak out leads. It’s a cool instrumental that lasts just over three minutes. The heavy low end of bass begins “Maybe It’s Time” as it glides about with a simple beat and some warped sounds. It’s the final instrumental jam and song on Studio/ Live II. To be honest, the first ten tracks would have been sufficient for this album. The real gems are on those songs for me. I thoroughly enjoyed this record nonetheless, and The Freeks really delivered some fine scorching tracks that live up to their name.