Filthy Friends
began as a lark, a way for mutual admirers
Corin Tucker
and
Peter Buck
-- known respectively as the guitarists for
Sleater-Kinney
R.E.M.
-- to share a stage together. Rounding out the lineup with Northwest punk stalwart
Kurt Bloch
associates
Scott McCaughey
Bill Rieflin
,
Tucker
Buck
turned
into a full-fledged band over the course of 2016. They began that year saluting the recently departed
David Bowie
in a set down in Mexico for
's annual Todos Santos Music Festival and closed the year with "Despierta," a song released as part of
Dave Eggers
'
Donald Trump
protest 30 Days, 30 Songs, giving the group the momentum to finish the full-length
Invitation
in early 2017.
improbably melds all these origin stories: it's a politically charged record delivered with a light touch. It's as fun as it's galvanizing, a record that draws strength from its casual nature.
feels like it was bashed out in a few days, with all the bandmembers doing their best to not rely on old tricks but sometimes succumbing to the temptation anyway. Given the group's lineage, this means
can suggest a flintier mid-period
, where
's ringing guitar is given brio by
's vocals, but she also seems gentler here than she does with
. Her warmer timbre complements the melancholic undercurrents running through her lyrics, not to mention the hesitant nostalgia of the music.
doesn't merely recall the marquee members of
: the group also conjures the spirits of such classic alternative peers as
Pixies
("Brother") or such forefathers as
T. Rex
("Come Back Shelley"). All these nods to the past make
seem cozy even when its words are defiant, and if that seems dissonant it also seems appropriate for 2017: outrage can be exhausting, so it's good to find solace in old friends. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine