You're Among Friends - As We Watch the Years Go​.​.​.

​You're Among Friends

As We Watch the Years Go​.​.​.
self-released; 2016

3.6 out of 5

By Andrew Westberry
​

Having already been making music for over a decade, You’re Among Friends is a rock band based in Cleveland, Ohio. Their latest of four releases, an album entitled As We Watch the Years Go…, is a unique blend of blues, power pop and alternative rock and is a great place for new listeners to begin before listening to the band’s earlier works.

​Hints of beach rock and traditional rock and roll pepper “Years Go” the album’s opening track. Wistful lyrics are complemented by a host of guitars and percussion instruments, making for a light and bright, yet full, soundscape. The following track “Any Day Now” relies heavily on bass guitar riffs for the song’s rhythmic foundation, which is built upon by percussion, electric guitars and layered vocals.

“Building Bridges to Burn,” a highly melodic and relentlessly emotive song, transitions nicely into “A Way to Get Away,” a laid-back, head-bob-inducing tune that alternates seamlessly between several dynamic structures and rhythmic decisions that make for a truly intriguing listening experience. Next, acoustic guitars take the spotlight in “Dumb Complaints,” a very catchy, swinging ballad that takes cues from blues and folk styles.

The energy of the album peaks in “The Opposite,” a hard-hitting rock song that incorporates harmonic guitar riffs with fast-paced lyrics, steady drums and fast strumming patterns. Although the tempo is slowed down in “Sour Grapes” the energy of the song remains sky-high before becoming slightly more subdued in the more acoustic-based “Calling Anyone,” a tune that gradually crescendos and becomes more and more musically complex as the song progresses.

An electronic synthesizer is featured in the ambient, beautiful “Dreaming of the Past” signaling a slight turn from the band’s characteristic sound. However, this deviation is short-lived, as “Rope,” the final song on the album, returns to the band’s typical instrumentation. Overall, As We Watch the Years Go… exemplifies the mastery that You’re Among Friends has accumulated and hones in their many years in the business of creating entertaining and meaningful music.

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