Three years on from the release of their critically acclaimed debut, Mutual Benefit have returned with a stellar album which mixes a healthy dose of realism into their lush and dreamy style of folk.
Skip A Sinking Stone pushes Mutual Benefit into more mature and less pretentious territory. Musically, the album is still very similar to Love’s Crushing Diamond – the opening track, “Madrugada”, bears a passing resemblance to “Strong River”, the first song from their debut.
If the hustle and bustle of the big wide world is well and truly getting on your wick cop a load of this slice of laid back chamber pop tinged loveliness from Mutual Benefit (AKA Jordan Lee and an ever changing collective of his buddies). It’s taken from brand new album Skip A Sinking Stone out on reliably excellent Transgressive Records on May 20th and there’s an all too rare UK show at Bush Hall, London on April 28th.
Placed at the end of the first side, and before the nocturnal side, “Not For Nothing” plants a resolute flagpole in the middle of the album. It’s the most hopeful interpretation of the album’s core premise, that no matter how far you happen to skip a stone, it will always sink. In “Not for Nothing”, Lee sees the flight of the stone as the most important aspect of the image – it’s the journey which matters, not the destination.
The Fat Angel Sings 