Transcendent, dreamy, harmonic, wistful and heavenly are just a few of the words that come to mind when you first listen to Mutual Benefit, set to perform at Rock & Roll Hotel Sept. 11.
Mutual Benefit sounds like Andrew Bird meets the Antlers. Lead singer Jordan Lee has the instrumental aspects of Bird and the vocal abilities of Peter Silberman with more simplistic yet eloquent lyrics. Lee is the only permanent member of the indie-folk/experimental lo-fi “DIY” band, which got its break in Boston through Bandcamp. Mutual Benefit has received a lot of unexpected success, like acclaim from Pitchfork and Stereogum for its 2013 album, “Love’s Crushing Diamond.”
In August, the band reissued its 2011 “The Cowboy’s Prayer” EP.
“It is interesting to have a chance to take a small step backwards and tour on old work,” Lee said in an interview with Mountain Xpress. “Especially because that EP scratches the surface of some of the thematic musical ideas that became more developed in ‘Love’s Crushing Diamond.’ I think sometimes revisiting past ideas can be inspiring too, though.”
The themes of space, nature and a sort of loneliness, all accompanied in pretty harmonies and melodies (the same elements that were presented in “Love’s Crushing Diamond”) are presented in “The Cowboy’s Prayer” EP.
“The Cowboy’s Prayer,” a five-track EP, starts off with the song “Auburn Epitaphs,” with euphoric melodies from ambient keyboards, piano loops and delicate acoustic sounds accompanied by the lyrics, “Smoking another cigarette/ I read the auburn epitaphs/ I pause to feel the gravity that permeates a part of me.”
The EP then transitions into a more electro-pop genre in the track “The Cowboy’s Prayer” and then back into a meditative fluid instrumentation routine in “Backwards Fireworks.” It’s a spiritual journey for the listener, who can almost feel the song wrap around him in a daydream-like trance.
Mutual Benefit created a work that alleviates all your problems and apprehensions within seconds of the first track. It’s the type of music you play after a hard day of work while drinking a cup of tea in order to ruminate or decompress. Expect a very mellow show this Thursday, filled with a swaying audience attentively listening and observing Lee’s intriguing stage presence.
_“The Cowboy’s Prayer” EP and “Love’s Crushing Diamond” are available to stream on Spotify and last.fm benefit and purchase on iTunes.
Mutual Benefit will be at Rock & Roll Hotel Sept. 11, with doors opening at 7 p.m. Tickets are $14 at the door. _
