Mutual Benefit - Skip A Sinking Stone (Album Review)
Friday, 27 May 2016
Written by Ben Gallivan
‘Skip A Sinking Stone’ is an album about a man in transition. The man is Jordan Lee and the change centres around the fallout from the release of ‘Love’s Crushing Diamond’ and his subsequent move to New York City.
A few years ago, Lee (and his malleable band of merry men, collectively Mutual Benefit) were awash in near universal acclaim following the arrival of the record which, as breakthroughs go, is up there with the best of them.
The first half of its follow up takes us on a journey, both figuratively and literally. We join Lee and the band on the road exhaustively touring ‘Love’s Crushing Diamond’, which for many artists represents a soul-destroying trek. But the story is different here.
Despite the downbeat nature of some of the music, there is little to zero malice in the lyrics. Lee’s gentle vocals, think America, or Bright Eyes-centric Conor Oberst, and the orchestral folk conjured by the band can make the mundane, where something as trivial as a zine interview can be a welcome distraction, seem an oddly calming and beautiful experience.
The album title, in fact, is seized from a moment in time where the band take a break from the road, drive down to a lake and skim stones. After a few listens, it’s clear that this is the perfect musical accompaniment for doing just that. It’s a pastime Lee can’t make his mind up on, though.“The activity of skipping stones is really relaxing and beautiful,” he said. “But in another sense you’re just letting these stones sink each time.”
One would expect the second half of the record, which charts Lee’s move and establishment as a resident of New York, to warrant a change in tempo, but that doesn’t happen. If anything, it allows him to create music free of distractions, with Slow March and Fire Escape proving to be the album’s highlights.
The Hereafter sees Lee reminiscing about his time on the road, seemingly disenfranchised with his new setup. New York may not be the place for his music, but it’s just going to have to do until this wandering troubadour ups sticks and takes to the road once again.
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