Friendship drop their new album Love the Stranger on July 29 via Merge Records. Ahead of the album’s release the Philadelphia band has shared the LP cut “Chomp Chomp,” a song that holds the distinction of the only repeated refrain—“loving the stranger” —on the album. The single premiered via Flood Magazine and the band’s Dan Wriggins told them “‘Chomp Chomp’ is based on a composition of Michael’s from a few years ago. He had some complicated chords in there. We scrapped most of them but left a couple in. We also scrapped my rhythm guitar part— a good decision more often than not. Lyrically, it’s another one about the miracle of love. And about dumb advice I’ve given because I thought I was protecting someone.”

“Chomp Chomp” follows previous singles “Alive Twice” “Hank” and “Ugly Little Victory.” Love the Stranger was co-produced by the band and Bradford Krieger and will be available on CD, LP.

Friendship will be heading out on a North American tour with Tenci. The shows kick off August 2 in Nashville and conclude in Chicago on August 14. Along the way they will stop in DC, New York, Toronto, and in Philadelphia for a hometown show at Johnny Brenda’s. All dates are listed below.

Love the Stranger moves like a country record skipping in just the right spot, leaving its fellow travelers longing for a place they’ve only visited in their dreams. Guitarist Peter Gill, drummer Michael Cormier-O’Leary, bassist Jon Samuels, and hawkeyed balladeer Dan Wriggins map out the group’s particular, breathtaking landscape and invite the listener to share in its glory.
Influenced by Friendship’s punk and indie peers as much as road-star forebears like Lucinda Williams and Lambchop, Wriggins says of the recording sessions: “We all got to stretch out, chase our personal musical fixations, and build on each others’ work. Bradford Krieger, our engineer at Big Nice Studio, has a mind-blowing creative energy and hundreds (thousands?) of instruments.” He recalls further: “I wanted the album to sound like Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band in the ’70s. Pete wanted it to sound like a semi full of spent fuel rods, barreling towards a runaway truck ramp. Jon kept reminding us that the studio is an instrument, and Michael wanted it to sound like the breakdown two-and-a-half minutes into Shuggie Otis’ ‘Strawberry Letter 23.’”

Friendship
Love the Stranger
Tracklisting:
Merge Records

St. Bonaventure
What’s the Move
Blue Canoe
Hank
Chomp Chomp
Love’s
No Way
Alive Twice
Quickchek
Ramekin
Mr. Chill
UDF
Ryde
Season
Kum & Go
Ugly Little Victory
Smooth Pursuit
Friendship on Tour:

Friendship 2022 Tour Dates

Aug 02 Nashville, TN – DRKMTTR*
Aug 03 Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre Side State*
Aug 04 Durham, NC – The Pinhook*
Aug 05 Washington, DC – Songbyrd*
Aug 06 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s*
Aug 07 New York NY – TV Eye*
Aug 09 Boston, MA – The Rockwell*
Aug 10 Montreal, QC – Casa del Popolo*
Aug 11 Toronto, ON – The Drake Hotel*
Aug 12 Columbus, OH – Rumba Cafe*
Aug 13 Detroit, MI – The Underground @ DIME*
Aug 14 Chicago, IL – The Hideout*
Sept 02 Asheville, NC – Static Age Records^
Sept 03 Asheville, NC – Static Age Records^
Sept 05 Knoxville, TN – Pilot Light^
Sept 06 Athens, GA – Flicker Theatre^

* – Tenci
^ – MJ Lenderman

Pre-order Love The Stranger by Friendship HERE