1 Nov 2024
Lunavela - Single Review: Six-Out-Of-Ten Friend
21 Sep 2021 // A review by bethany_rachell
I'm not gonna lie; Six-Out-Of-Ten Friend was stuck in my head for a solid week after I listened to it for the first time – so be warned.
Perhaps the reason it stuck so solidly in my head was that I kept finding myself in the painfully mundane and tricky situations that it laments. Steve Mathieson of Lunavela has mentioned that it is about “celebrating that awkward conversation of small talk in the pet food aisle of Countdown”, but my least favourite thing about those encounters is not the small talk itself, but seeing that same person again in the bread aisle, and by the milk, and in the carpark, and never knowing how to acknowledge those secondary interactions without regretting it afterwards. The line-up of this song, Alistair Deverick (Boycrush) on drums, Hannan Carter (Steriogram, NO) on the bass, and mixed by Ben Lawson, makes me excited about the full album which is due to be released later this year.
Musically this song gave me Front Bottoms vibes with its rolling drums (please don’t take this the wrong way I LOVE the Front Bottoms (or the14 year old in me does at least)). Overall, Six-Out-Of-Ten Friend is a simple song. It's pretty echo-dreamy in the vocals and it just rolls along like the monotony of the everyday life it describes. It really does shine through in the lyrics though, which makes it witty and fun. You’ll enjoy this track for sure.
I'm not gonna lie; Six-Out-Of-Ten Friend was stuck in my head for a solid week after I listened to it for the first time – so be warned.
Perhaps the reason it stuck so solidly in my head was that I kept finding myself in the painfully mundane and tricky situations that it laments. Steve Mathieson of Lunavela has mentioned that it is about “celebrating that awkward conversation of small talk in the pet food aisle of Countdown”, but my least favourite thing about those encounters is not the small talk itself, but seeing that same person again in the bread aisle, and by the milk, and in the carpark, and never knowing how to acknowledge those secondary interactions without regretting it afterwards. The line-up of this song, Alistair Deverick (Boycrush) on drums, Hannan Carter (Steriogram, NO) on the bass, and mixed by Ben Lawson, makes me excited about the full album which is due to be released later this year.
Musically this song gave me Front Bottoms vibes with its rolling drums (please don’t take this the wrong way I LOVE the Front Bottoms (or the14 year old in me does at least)). Overall, Six-Out-Of-Ten Friend is a simple song. It's pretty echo-dreamy in the vocals and it just rolls along like the monotony of the everyday life it describes. It really does shine through in the lyrics though, which makes it witty and fun. You’ll enjoy this track for sure.
Rating:
( 4 / 5 )
About Lunavela
Mathieson draws his songwriting inspiration from exploring the things that most people think, but don’t want to say. “The more uncomfortable the lyrics make me feel, the better,” he says, and his latest offering stands true to this assertion, with the upbeat pop guitar juxtaposing the self-analytical, vulnerable lyrics.
Unconventionally, he says he usually starts with a song title and develops the idea from there, preferring to work within a 'theme' for his lyrics. Mathieson’s signature style seems to be setting those sticky observations that none of us like to make out loud to a catchy, upbeat backdrop, inviting his listeners to freely relate to the discomfort with a knowing smile and a tapping foot.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Lunavela
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