Mutual Friends often draw comparisons of their sound with Arcade Fire and Death Cab For Cutie.
Background
As a 4-piece indie rock outfit from Buffalo, they’re all rather familiar with their local music scene. Rounding up the troops is Kevin Scoma (vocals, synth), joined by Bryan Johnson (guitar, vocals), Brett Perla (bass) and Jeff Trehy (drums).
Mutual Friends’ synergy is illustrated symbolically on their debut EP artwork for Instant Gratification. As Kevin Scoma tells Impose Magazine: “[The] four interconnected circles in the artwork symbolizes the originality and common friends that brought the group together.”
Thoughts
“Instant Gratification” really gets in your head. Mutual Friends here seem to be in touch with their own Monday blues, in how the passivity of the vocals opening the track hang over your head in reflection. The beauty of the music video is its mirroring of the world being explored and admired — the grand instrumental closing of the song fits perfectly in line with the solace the guy walking through the woods is able to find.
10 seconds into the song, you’re exposed to the melody which endures throughout the song. It’s chime and atmospheric charm still resonates with me. It’s truly a dreamy exploration for Mutual Friends, who have definitely hit a stride with their talents in storytelling front and center in “Instant Gratification”. The track’s climax, juxtaposed to any other song, may seem underwhelming — but within its own isolated context, fits the tone and the pace of the story being told incredibly well. This one is a 5/5.
Support
Mutual Friends can be supported in a variety of ways:
- Spotify
- iTunes
- Bandcamp (You can find Instant Gratification here, by the way)
- Soundcloud
