reviews / 2026

SPECIAL FRIEND - Clipping

2026 (Skep Wax)
indie-pop, lo-fi
by Lorenzo Righetto
7

Despite lacking a clearly defined identity of their own, Special Friend speak a language that's easy enough to grasp for anyone versed in the independent scene of the 1980s and 90s in particular.

A solid backbone is provided by indie-pop tracks, at times roughly guitar-driven like "Mustard" and "Unwound", which can recall the jangle of the southern hemisphere, and at other times more openly melodic, like the title track and "Paints A Picture".

Special Friend also harbor a semi-secret fondness for early-2000s Low ("Mold") and for slowcore in general ("Sanctuary"), rounding out an expressive picture that, in a way, might feel recognizable even without hearing the record.

The real value of "Clipping" doesn't lie in some grand artistic statement, but in discovering both the sudden melodic openings ("Theoretical") and the guitar touches, some vaguely noise-inflected, that constantly enrich the record ("OOO", "Nothing").

An album and a band worth holding on to, in short.

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27/04/2026

This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Lorenzo Righetto, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.

Read the original in Italian · About the English edition

Tracklist

  1. 1. Paints A Picture
  2. 2. Clipping
  3. 3. Isolation
  4. 4. Theoretical
  5. 5. Breakfast
  6. 6. Mold
  7. 7. Nothing
  8. 8. Unwound
  9. 9. Mustard
  10. 10. Village
  11. 11. Sanctuary
  12. 12. OOO

Special Friend on OndaRock

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