Adam Freedman's Best Laid Plans (Gone Wrong)

Adam Freedman is a traveling man. Born in Detroit and raised in Cape Cod listening to heavy metal, the biologist/musician has lived a life of escapades: capturing and tracking bears in the swamps of western Florida, surveying caribou in the wilds of Alaska and spending time over the past few years in Cameroon living in mud huts.

Among the adventures, Freedman (currently residing in Los Angeles pursuing a doctorate in biology) found the time to write songs, resulting in the 2007 self-release Best Laid Plans (Gone Wrong), a collection of acoustic driven, indie/pop/folk fusion songs.

Produced by Freedman and friend Jason Merritt (who also adds baritone guitar and synthesizer to the album), the sparse arrangements on Best Laid Plans (Gone Wrong) feature Freedman and his virtuosic acoustic guitar playing as the foundation of most of the songs. Dropping in masterful rhythms and dexterous licks, Freedman is a whiz on the acoustic guitar, shifting between tight fingerpicking and shuffling rhythms. The album thrives when it crosses eclectic acoustic guitar rock, folk and indie pop stylings, and sparkling, intelligent lyrics.

But Best Laid Plans (Gone Wrong) falters when the songs extend themselves too much, dropping in muddling bridges and wandering off the songs' tight, melodic structures. It's a condition that infects the album, even on some of the best songs.

Good: On "Truly Blind," the album's opener, Freedman sings of "Gortex kings" and "aluminum siding" over a hard acoustic rhythm that propels the song to its end, a swirl of chorale voices repeating the chorus, surging electric guitar and spiraling keyboards. In less than four minutes, Freedman indicts the spending power of Americans, and it sounds ravishing.

"Official Explanation" encapsulates the beauty of the album with its delightfully gentle guitar introduction, soft cello and violin, noodling electric guitar and witty lyrics such as "And the panhandling punks are bored beyond distraction/Like native New Yorkers transplanted to Nebraska."

"I Could Never Lie" and "At the Mall" (Love the Paul Simonesque finger snaps; not the '80s synth pop bridge) are the brightest lyrical moments in an album filled with sharp, poetic jabs.

Bad: Freedman's songs tend to wander from the main theme, even on some of the best songs such as with "Do Good By You" and "Summer Lightning." Freedman is such a strong acoustic guitar player it almost sounds like personal sabotage when the songs slip into uncharted territory.

Opening and closing with an amazing display of acoustic guitar playing, "Do Good By You" gallops along at a poppy pace, but stumbles through an electronic wasteland before regaining its motif. "Summer Lightning" is a bluegrass gem, dropping in "mandolin" by Merritt and clever lyrics such as "Where is my home/You know I don't know where it is/Another cliche of restlessness/Like a bad country song," but misplaces its focus with a temp-changing bridge.

Must haves: "Truly Blind," "Official Explanation," "Summer Lightning," "Goldfish," "I Could Never Lie."

Rating (out of 5): 3

Adam Freedman plays at Juanita's on Tuesday at 9 p.m. with openers Seth Wihilmi and Jody McCall. Admission is $6.