FRIENDSHIP - Caveman Wakes Up

Fust, Wednesday, but above all M.J. Lenderman and Jason Molina: with these wandering ghosts behind them, Friendship are carving out a space for themselves in the contemporary alt-country scene, taking small steps but all in the right direction. Things really started heading the right way when Dan Wriggins' band signed to Merge: not that much has changed in the world of the American outfit, but what is certain is that the stories and metaphors told by Friendship have gradually acquired a more defined personality, helped along by the musicians' many side projects. Power pop band 2nd Grade is led by guitarist Peter Gill and also features bassist Jon Samuels, who is also involved in running the Dear Life label (whose roster includes, fittingly, M.J. Lenderman) alongside percussionist Michael Cormier-O'Leary.

"Caveman Wakes Up" is a compendium of everything the band has sown so far. The overall tone is heavy, subdued; the comparisons drawn by many critics are partly illuminating, from Lambchop to Neil Young, while a rough poetic indolence scratches away the few certainties, leaving room for aching harmonies and Wriggins' listless, distracted vocals.

Truth be told, you have to wait for the closer ("Fantasia") to savor a moment of serenity and reflection: the trance-like state induced from the very first notes of "Salvage Title" remains constant, even when the band picks up the pace with the heftier country-rock of "Tree Of Heaven", where even the guitar riffs grow heavy, matching the author's sorrowful tales.

The songs on "Caveman Wakes Up" are disjointed notes, vignettes of everyday life populated by elusive, romantic characters; for a moment the sonic garb even lets a near-pop verve flow through, before melancholy regains control ("Betty Ford") or the specter of death hides behind the sneaky uptempo of "Hollow Skulls".

Friendship's songs don't go in for the glories of the epic refrain; they stay subdued and nocturnal even at the risk of sounding ordinary ("Love Vape", "Wildwood In January"), but when the climax builds, you risk being floored by the raw power of a track like "Resident Evil", where the influence of Neil Young surfaces more than anywhere else, although it's in the powerful, atypical country-soul groove built on synth-bass of "Free Association" that the band overturns its own premises and prospects, promising further good vibrations for the future.

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16/08/2025