Friend Rock
Nomad Union, 2023
9/10
A Wisconsin trio consisting of Brett Newski, Steve Vorass and Sean Anderson, this ‘90s revival of alt-rock as Newski brings some serious heavy hitters on board as guests, where each song recruits a friend/influence to the affair.
“Freak Flag Fly” opens the listen with Vorass’ thumping drums and Newski’s flowing vocals in the soft rocker that welcomes Magic Charles, and “Chemicals” follows with a fuzzed out rocker that might remind you of the almighty Nada Surf, which is great, cause Matthew Caws plays on the tune.
At the halfway point, “If We’re Gonna Breakup, Let’s Make It Take Forever” benefits from Miles Nielsen (Red Wanting Blue) for the acoustic guitar fueled album highlight, while “Why Even Bother” showcases The Verve Pipe’s Brian Vander for the thicker, grungy display.
Close to the end, “Airplane” takes help from Ryan Miller (Guster) via the intimate versus buzzing lo-fi appeal, and “Nevermind, Not Nirvana” employs Canada’s The Secret Beach for the mesmerizing gentle and firm dynamics that uses piano sparingly but effectively.
As someone who was very much absorbing music like this in the ‘90s, had Newski been around then, it’s likely they’d be sandwiched on 120 Minutes between The Get Up Kids and Pixies. I would have kept watching then, and I’ll certainly keep listening now.
Travels well with: Brett Newski- Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down; State Drugs and ZEPHR- Mr. Untitled/Landline (J’ai Une Ame Solitaire)