SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MUTUAL BENEFIT – GROWING AT THE EDGES

MUTUAL BENEFIT
GROWING AT THE EDGES
[PIAS]

New York’s Mutual Benefit, aka Jordan Lee, is no newbie. He’s been on the scene from 2009, and has garnered some rave reviews for his previous work.

You can expect the same for his latest album Growing At the Edges, because, essentially, that is exactly what he does here – starts seemingly gentle and quiet, and as repeated listens reveal, the intricate melodies and arrangements he weaves just keep on growing – from the edges inwards.

Collaborating with ever-present Gabriel Birnbaum, Lee comes up with a set detailed and gently complex songs that keep on revealing all the elements involved as you go along with the album.

Lee explains his approach to songwriting to this album: “In songs that before would maybe resolve in a predictable place, I started doing these what ifs” he says. “What if it went somewhere unexpected instead?

And that unexpected is exactly what makes this album shine.

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