{"product_id":"friendship-love-the-stranger","title":"Friendship - Love the Stranger","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFriendship\u003c\/strong\u003e’s Merge debut, \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLove the Stranger\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e, 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp style=\"margin-left:0.55pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eBetween instrumental pit stops at “Kum \u0026amp; Go” and “Quickchek,” local references in \u003ci\u003eLove the Stranger \u003c\/i\u003ecreate a catalog of human perception, presented as roadside attractions. From grape jelly residue (“Ramekin”) to the site of a demolished cathedral (“St. Bonaventure”) to \u003ci\u003eKing of the Hill\u003c\/i\u003e quotations (“Smooth Pursuit”), the record’s images craft a symbolic language of high and low Americana, both evocative and consistently accessible. Spending time with \u003ci\u003eLove the Stranger\u003c\/i\u003e creates a community—one in which the window between the listener and the music-maker shatters in full, until all that remains are the fragments you decide to pick up together.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eFriendship is probably already your favorite band’s favorite band, a long-revered IYKYK of DIY with a devoted cult following from Wawa to In-N-Out. With \u003ci\u003eLove the Stranger\u003c\/i\u003e, the Friendship universe only continues to expand and grow more open-hearted, more inviting, with every passing note. It’s a record that locates the listener exactly where the listener is, and wherever that may be, makes a friend out of them, too. All said and done, the age-old maxim of “Mr. Chill” holds true: “You be real with me and I’ll be real with you.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Peak Vinyl (Opaque Blue Galaxy)","offer_id":52739321069879,"sku":"MRG797lp-C1","price":22.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP (Black)","offer_id":52739321102647,"sku":"MRG797LP","price":21.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":52739321135415,"sku":"MRG797CD","price":14.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/2525210f5415d196387ec600e9b376e509dbde56_1483502510b152b77050657d8b47aba9b1c48a45_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785382262","url":"https:\/\/mergerecords.com\/products\/friendship-love-the-stranger","provider":"Merge Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}