On July 29, Philly-based Friendship will release their new album Love the Stranger via Merge Records. Today they share the final peak at the LP before release via new single “Chomp Chomp,” a song that holds the distinction of the only repeated refrain—“loving the stranger” —on the album. Dan Wriggins says, “‘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.”

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. The record’s images craft a symbolic language of high and low Americana, both evocative and consistently accessible. Spending time with Love the Stranger creates a community—one in whichthe window between the listener and the music-maker shatters in full, until all that remains are the fragments you decide to pick up together.

Photo Courtesy: Charlie Boss