Today Jordan Lee’s Mutual Benefit released the debut album Love’s Crushing Diamond via Other Music Recording.
Similar to some alt-folk sonorities we got used in the last decade (Fleet Foxes, Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine), Mutual Benefit created a gorgeous collection of warmhearted tunes, with a peculiar mixture of songwriting and baroque arrangments.
Even if Jordan Lee is the core of the project, Mutual Benefit is an open music collective, stricly influenced by the Elephant 6 expierence: it’s easy to perceive Jeff Mangum shadow in most of the tracks.
The freak-folk show they put on throughout this record is a gentle stream of dreamy atmospheres, quiet percussions, weird and appropriate suond fields and lots of great ideas. Counting on a huge amount of unconventional instruments, Jordan lee follows the path opened by bands such as Olivia Tremor Control and The Music Tapes, with a remarkable focus on some pop standards.
This seven step journey into Lee’s world reveals an enchanting cabinet of acoustic sounds, occasionally sustained by electronic effects. Surely, Love’s Crushing Diamond is a stunning start for this american artist, proving the world the value of his creative mind.