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Dreamin'

by Friendship

supported by
Rich
Rich thumbnail
Rich It's all Jon's fault from WPRB - the friendship live session sold me big time. Like the title - all these songs are dreamin! Favorite track: You Might Already Know.
Connor Brown
Connor Brown thumbnail
Connor Brown Listening through this album is like unpacking a dusty box of 45s of the best country songs your grand-dad never told you about. Or sipping a beer with a friend on a cool, muggy, early-autumn day. Or a light drizzle on a warm summer day. Each song is imbued with near-clairvoyant degrees of empathy and an exquisite view of the sacredness of the mundane. Favorite track: Dusky.
kenny
kenny thumbnail
kenny a forever album... "blessed is the front porch" Favorite track: Dusky.
Jarrod Sage
Jarrod Sage thumbnail
Jarrod Sage sounds like Attic Abasement but more twang--it's great Favorite track: Clairvoyant.
James Champion
James Champion thumbnail
James Champion the “mundane” mixed wonderfully with the holy, a good amount of skilled noticing. I come back to this album all the time Favorite track: Several Stations.
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    High quality, 140g sunglasses brown vinyl LPs in extra heavyweight Stoughton jackets. Package includes souvenir postcard & complete album lyrics. 10 songs, 41 minutes.

    200 copies on black vinyl
    200 copies on sunglasses brown vinyl (mail order only)
    100 copies on translucent yellow vinyl (tour only)

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    High quality, 140g black vinyl LPs in extra heavyweight Stoughton jackets. Package includes souvenir postcard & complete album lyrics. 10 songs, 41 minutes.

    200 copies on black vinyl
    200 copies on sunglasses brown vinyl (mail order only)
    100 copies on translucent yellow vinyl (tour only)

    Includes unlimited streaming of Dreamin' via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $20 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    300 professionally replicated discs in "eco-wallet" gatefold sleeves, featuring exclusive photos. 10 tracks, 41 minutes.

    CD edition limited to 300 copies.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Dreamin' via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD or more 

     

1.
If I have any common sense I owe it to your heavy-duty presence You showed up with grace and understanding You showed it to me and that changed everything I think of this world of hatred and lies I feel utterly hopeless, and then I realize That I don’t have to imagine your love If we are destined soon to part I’ll keep the light on for you in my heart We might not be forever feeling it But just having known you is a promise And if we can’t keep it that’s okay with me Because you showed me beloved community And because I don’t have to imagine your love All I have to do is remember it
2.
Dusky 04:15
Blessed is the front porch and your six pabsts Your feet on the milkcrate And your hands in your lap Something’s on your mind, your eyes brighten You pull me in again with your excitement You notice every angle The way you look at buildings The way you look at people I want to hear your interpretation You’ve got ways of seeing hidden meaning Another five minutes since we last spoke Blessed is the front porch Because I’m going for a smoke Something’s on my mind, it’s getting dusky I tell myself not to worry, but how can I trust me When I notice everything? Every little reaction, every passing sigh I could turn mountains into dust Where would that leave us? Clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy In our house the sickness is the same as the remedy I know you feel it too and it clearly bothers you I say “it’s okay, don’t worry,” But you can tell that I think it might not be Because you notice everything Every little reaction, every passing sigh You could turn mountains into dust Where would that leave us? You notice everything Every little reaction, every passing sigh I’m not up for interpretation Blessed are the places that grant us patience
3.
Clairvoyant 03:36
Sometimes a song, sometimes silence sometimes a friend gives me a little guidance Mark’s got nothing but garbage movies So I drive out to see you in Jersey You asked if I’d been crying lately I said “how can you tell?” You said “I’m clairvoyant, baby” We walked to the park, as far as the station Now we’re walking back With a few more realizations I’m still scanning the path, searching for clues Something to substantiate our passing through I’m probably still gonna wallow As I’m crossing the Whit How come we never happened? How come life was a bitch? Are you coming for me, morning? I don’t know if I can face you But others have before me, so maybe I can too You asked if I’d been crying lately I said “how can you tell?” You said “I’m clairvoyant, baby” It’s kind of scary how you know What’s going on in my world But you help me to see my life You set one hell of an example How do you always seem to know The details of my world? That’s beyond me, but shoot, I’m grateful
4.
Junk on the table, and my work gloves I ate in the kitchen, standing up You sent me a picture, you were looking alright It’s hard to make out the ocean at night I’m sending back a message You might already know what it’s gonna say Sheets of typar move in the breeze I’m singing the same song: Come home, stay with me You found a portal to my world And you walked right in I didn’t think there was a door there But apparently it’s wide open I’m sending back a message You might already know what it’s gonna say
5.
Low but On 05:03
Call me when you’re on your way Like you do every other day If only you knew how much depends on you If only you perceived your influence on me Black leaves dipping in the gray cement You can quit any minute Cold water dripping from the Kenmore drain You can always change your ways I know just how you’re gonna use me How you’ll drag my heart around Because everything you do to me I have done to someone else Black leaves dipping in the grey cement If you want to quit you can quit any minute Cold water dripping from the Arctic King You can leave today, you don’t owe me anything
6.
Sure 03:14
Huge fly Flew around the room a few too many times Doing what we can to survive Are you absolutely sure? Finches on the birch Level with my third floor window perched You’re downstairs doing your research Yes, I’m absolutely sure New moon, I’m back tonight consulting you And you say you’ve felt it worse than I do You are constantly upping the ante Are you absolutely sure? Yes, I’m finally sure
7.
I visited several stations on my way downtown Forgot my own language Had some trouble getting around In the back of the bodega I was agreeing with my friend But with every passing moment there grew An ambient but unmistakable dread And the sound of the doorbell sure didn’t help Like an alarm clock incorporated Into the end of a dream, I’m adjusting for reality Saying to myself “just get it together,” Waking up the faculties I visited several stations on my way downtown The keys had vanished but I made it somehow In the back of the mailroom There was a line for me to stand in I meant to get home in time To take Roy to the garden But the El was late, and it ruined my day Every little incident does a number on me Everything I trusted is gone I never guessed that I would be able To betray myself. Well, I was wrong Not a peep out of you in weeks Who called me just about every night when I lived on the island Did you think you didn’t matter Enough to hurt someone? Well, you were wrong
8.
Millionfish 04:14
When you judge everybody you’re scared all the time You start deeming folks unworthy left and right Feeling like garbage, angry and bitter Shitty springs blossom from crappy winters Must be at somebody’s mercy, but whose mercy? I know it’s so foolish to dwell on the past But as of late I’ve been dwelling, dwelling bad So I’ve got to know, is your house on the market? I’ve got to relocate some unwanted habits Shake a few of these ghostly co-signees I took it down to the embankment Billboards and little guppies Headed down to my place of respite In the shade of the camphor tree To know and love other people is to constantly generalize I will never know you and sometimes it hurts being surprised I guess it’s high time we get used to it. I still get surprised, but I’m using it Every day I die and I wake up With the IQ of a two-year-old Making way for new construction I’m sorry, the property’s been sold
9.
Not an Exit 05:40
Not an exit, the door opens anyway On two green dumpsters and a loading bay Seagulls are stalking up some prey They get squawking, they fly away Not an exit, but you’re leaving today Are you feeling closer to normal? Looking out my passenger window Can you see those cloudy symbols? One for fine, two for miserable Three might stand for not insurmountable Not an exit, well you could have fooled me What’s the matter, can’t you speak? I’m sorry, that’s not what I mean It’s just that you can be so hard to receive Without a barrier inbetween Looking back I can’t say I have ever been sure How to get on your level, how to meet you on your terms It wouldn’t be the first time I put off hard work I can’t see your face, just the hem of your sweatshirt Maybe gas will be cheap forever Shoes, tires, and the A/C fan Are moving by forces I don’t understand Why one collapses and another expands Would you let me in on your plans? One for water, and two for land Every stream has a bend, every fence has a gate Since I picked you up this morning, you’ve been miles away And I know things between us can be so strained But you’ve got the spare key if you need a place to stay Not an exit, but you’ll surely find a way
10.
Hex on the barn, two white birds Ink on your arm, two black birds It feels like never enough even when there is so much Hex on the barn means nothing Ink on your arm is just a decoration And the light through your window means nothing And the sweet little rainbow means nothing You’ve got to sift through the messages More often than you’d think Remaining suspicious of the fishy explanations Everyone is offering

about

Onstage, bassist Jon Samuels is the only Friendship member who stands up. He is usually swaying back and forth as the songs bear down, pulling together and apart. Friendship’s new record, Dreamin’ (out Nov 8th on Orindal Records) is an exorable wave of motion, endlessly rocking between intimacy and loneliness.

The contemplative alt-country songs on Dreamin’ were recorded to tape in July last year with the help of The Low Anthem’s Jeff Prystowsky. The band moved away from the inclusion of digitally programmed drums and rhodes piano for Dreamin’, opting instead for a warmer, more organic aesthetic and a starker performance. Most of the songs on Dreamin’ took shape while Dan Wriggins (vocals and guitar) and Mike Cormier (drums) worked and lived as groundskeepers at a private estate in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, frequently driving into Philadelphia for shows and friends. The record is set both in the country and the city – community, peacefulness, and isolation can all be heard and felt throughout the superb new record.

Friendship have retained a loyal cult following since their first offering in 2015, You’re Going to Have to Trust Me, which was released on Burst and Bloom Records that year. An EP on Sleeper Records and another record on their current label Orindal Records followed in 2017 – the acclaimed Shock Out of Season, bringing us forward to late 2019; when they will release their wonderful new album Dreamin’ on 8th November again via Orindal Records.

The songs of Dreamin’ are immediate yet gentle. They explore human signs and meaning and are as equally driven by moments of love and connection as they are by our total unknowing, even to those closest to us. In Not an Exit, the driver-narrator asks their passenger: “Can you see those cloudy symbols? / One for fine, two for miserable / three might stand for not insurmountable.” The language is unclear. The message is variable. The characters of Dreamin’ reflect our abiding search for love and understanding.

Elsewhere, lead single Clairvoyant is a thank you note to a friend who offered support during a tough period; “You asked if I’d been crying lately / I said “how can you tell?” / You said “I’m clairvoyant, baby”

Talking about the track, Wriggins said: “I wrote “Clairvoyant” a couple days after seeing Willie Nelson perform in Camden, New Jersey at the BB&T Pavilion. My friend Mark had won tickets from a radio station, but had to bail the day before, so he gave me the tickets and I went alone. This is only tangentially represented in the action of the song. But I think it’s pertinent given Willie’s (and one or two others’) creepy ability to read minds.”

The lilting Dusky is a moving and shrewd account of the push and pull that occurs between two people figuring out how to be together, framed by the opening lines: “Blessed is the front porch / and your six Pabsts.” “My apartment in Philadelphia has a nice porch on a busy street. I love sitting there with a beer and my dog, Roy, and talking with friends, and watching people. There was a guy named Phil who would sit on his porch across the street and sing at the top of his lungs all day long. When people bothered him he would yell “I’m just out here trying to save my life.” Phil’s gone now, I don’t know where he went, I hope he didn’t die. I am generally clueless about what’s going on. The song is about the difficulty and wonder I’ve found in relationships with people with superhuman observational skills.” said Wriggins, reflecting on the song.

The lauded songwriter’s lyrics touch on both the smallest and the most significant moments that occur within human interaction. He reflects on those moments with a sharp wit, keenly observing and eloquently putting into words the unimportant twists and turns that over time become important – that become our experiences, our relationships, our lives. Dreamin’ offers hope with one hand and takes it away with the other. Immersed within swathes of lush Americana guitars, keys, soft, expressive drums and the haunting wail of a pedal steel, on Dreamin’, Friendship sounds more like Friendship than ever before.

credits

released November 8, 2019

PEDAL STEEL, GUITAR: Pete Gill
DRUMS, PROGRAMMING: Mike Cormier
SYNTHESIZER: Evangeline Krajewski
BASS: Jon Samuels
VOX, GUITAR, PIANO, ORGAN: Dan Wriggins

ALL SONGS: Dan Wriggins (BMI)
RECORDED BY: Jeff Prystowsky at Eyeland
in Providence, RI. Assistance from Lily Wright
MIXED BY: Evan M. Marré
MASTERED BY: Mike Ditrio
PRODUCED BY: Friendship
COVER PHOTO: Mayumi Suzuki
SPECIAL THANKS: Owen Ashworth, Lucas
Knapp, Peter McLaughlin, Meg McCauley

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Friendship Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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