REVIEW: Bobby Freemont’s “somewhere by a lake” Is the Dreamy Escape Track Your Overstimulated Brain Desperately Needs
REVIEW
REVIEW
☆ BY DANIELLE HOLIAN ☆
BOBBY FREEMONT IS BACK, AND HE’S TAKING YOU WAY OFF THE GRID. With his latest single “somewhere by a lake,” the indie shapeshifter delivers a soul-soothing, slow-burning anthem for anyone dreaming of escape but still stuck in the noise. Lush, meditative, and quietly devastating, it’s a track that trades flash for feeling, and hits all the harder because of it.
But don’t get it twisted. This is not your average sad-boy-with-a-guitar moment. Bobby Freemont isn’t wallowing. He’s fantasizing. About stillness. About leaving. About nature. About anything but city living and the constant hum of modern chaos. “I kept dreaming about leaving it all behind,” he says of the track’s origin story, which dates all the way back to a tough patch in 2018. “But reality had other plans.”
That sense of yearning pulses through every moment of the track. Collaborating with veteran songwriter Nick Ferraro, known for his work with Kali Uchis, SiR, Macy Grey, and Earth, Wind & Fire, Freemont has crafted a piece of music that feels as expansive as the open water it references. But rather than drown in emotion, “somewhere by a lake” floats in it. It’s patient. Measured. Beautifully restrained.
Opening with fluttering keys and the soft hum of strings, the song immediately conjures a sense of calm. Freemont’s vocals arrive like a breeze, light but full of weight, hovering gently above a bed of textured instrumentation. His voice doesn’t push. It invites. The production is lush, but never crowded. There's a careful balance of space and subtle groove, a soft, steady rhythm that keeps the track gently in motion, like ripples in still water.
The song is poetic without feeling obtuse. There’s a clarity in Freemont’s words, a grounded vulnerability that avoids cliché. He’s not offering solutions, just reflections. And that’s where the track’s emotional power lies. “somewhere by a lake” captures the melancholy of the in-between: the desire for change, the ache of inertia, the quiet mourning of what could be. It’s a love letter to the idea of escape, and an acknowledgement that some escapes remain fantasy.
What makes Freemont’s delivery so effective is its subtlety. There’s no grand reveal, no sweeping crescendo. Instead, he leans into the stillness, letting the song’s emotion simmer rather than boil. That restraint feels radical in a time of maximalism. It allows the listener to project their own experience into the space he’s created. You’re not just hearing his story, you’re locating your own within it.
Far from your average “sad boy with a guitar” fare, Freemont’s latest single is a delicate indie shapeshifter that’s subtle, soulful, and achingly sincere. Released as the third track from his highly anticipated debut album The Death of Bobby Freemont (due late 2025), this slow-burning jam is less about genre and more about feeling. And the feeling is clear: this is the sound of someone desperate to breathe outside the noise.
You can feel that readiness in every second. From the opening flutter of dreamy keys to the soft, steady snap of percussion, “somewhere by a lake” flows with precision and purpose. There’s a quiet confidence to the production, a sense that every element is exactly where it needs to be. Bobby’s vocals are soft and airy, gliding effortlessly over a mellow arrangement of warm strings, slick percussion, and intricate guitar work.
This is Freemont at his most vulnerable and self-assured. It’s also a sign of the ambitious, emotionally intelligent artist he’s quietly becoming. With a string of releases planned every six weeks leading up to his LP, it’s clear Bobby isn’t just dropping singles; he’s building a body of work, one soul-searching track at a time.
Freemont isn’t interested in riding trends or chasing virality. There’s a confidence in his pace, a belief in slow growth and emotional honesty that sets him apart in an increasingly oversaturated space. With millions of streams already under his belt and collaborations with Grammy and Juno-nominated talent, he’s quietly becoming one of the most compelling voices in the new wave of alternative soul-pop.
The lake is metaphorical, sure, but it also feels tangible. This song is its little escape hatch, its brief moment of clarity. Whether you’re lost in a city, stuck in a cycle, or just trying to breathe a little deeper, Freemont has given us something rare: a song that listens back.
