For a band hailed as the new voice of Italian slacker rock, theres a defiant sense of energy and zeal to the music on FREEZs new album Icebreaker. Urgency, too, like theyre in a hurry to fulfil all those lofty proclamations of greatness thrust upon them since their debut EP, Routine, in 2017. And while their echo-drenched, garage rock vibes make it sound like they were birthed between Oakland, San Francisco, and Long Beach, for frontman and songwriter Michele Bellinaso, theres a better descriptor for where the quintet - Bellinaso on vocals and guitar, Stefano Bassan on guitar, Nicolò Bressan on drums, Alessandro Zordan on bass, and Riccardo Persico on Eko organ and percussion - find themselves in 2023; Emo. FFO: Bee Bee Sea, Pavement, Black Lips, Jay Reatard, Ty Segall.