SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: FRIENDSHIP – CAVEMAN WAKES UP

FRIENDSHIP
CAVEMAN WAKES UP
MERGE RECORDS

There’s this leftfield take on Americana music that has been going on for a while that encompasses quite a number of artists, from Will Oldham and Bill Callahan to the likes of Idaho Pernice Brothers up to MJ Lenderman as one of the more recent names.

Philadelphia songwriter Dan Wriggins and his musical conglomerate that goes under the simple name of Friendship fits in snugly somewhere in there, something that their latest album Caveman Wakes Up exemplifies in full and all in flying, somewhat darkly tinged colors.

Actually, Lenderman reference is not here just by chance, as Wriggins and other band members have both musical and well, friendship connections with Lenderman. Yet, the music of Friendship the band has its own sound and course as they pick up their musical references from all over the place from the usual singer-songwriter suspects to Grateful Dead and even later phase Talk Talk and whispers of Mark Hollis. In other words, quite a brilliant record.

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