Live by Friends of the Road

An optimist sees themselves as constantly emerging, always in a state of construction, of ascension, of actualization. Live by Friends of the Road takes this process of constant unfolding as inspiration for their droney post-folk experiments, improvising a path from here to some undefined point above. Glacial chord progressions evoke a constant upward motion, using intermittent melodic leads, occasional noise bursts, and purposeful vocal riffs to continue this climb even as the core droning fiddles must eventually return to earth to refuel. Though this graceful, awe-inspiring journey never fully falters, moments of palpable tension introduce realistic negativity to this otherwise euphoric experience. Members of the ensemble intuitively conspire against the purity of the sound’s positivity, thoughtfully and eloquently interjecting increasing entropy into the system in the form of sour notes, suspended chords, and distressing noise. However, the band effortlessly absorbs these particles of chaos into their growing body of hope, never fully dispelling these challenges after they appear but instead fascinatingly wrapping and warping them into building blocks of progress. We falter, we stumble, we flinch, but nevertheless we ascend.