Friend Ship
Staying together during anxious times is the central focus of the Wellington, New Zealand, band’s seventh album. In the five years between 2015’s *Give Up Your Dreams* and *Friend Ship*, the six-piece worked on a variety of projects—from teaming up with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for a series of concerts celebrating their 20 years together to working on the soundtrack to Taika Waititi’s *Hunt for the Wilderpeople* (which three of the band members were involved in under the name Moniker). These collaborative experiences sparked an interest in bringing in more guests on this hazy neo-psych record. On “Tranquility,” frontman Samuel Flynn Scott duets with Tiny Ruins’ Hollie Fullbrook as they ease the mind over a blanket of ambient soundscapes and late-night sax, while on the harpsichord-led ’60s sunshine pop of “Hounds of Hell,” it’s singer-songwriter Nadia Reid who joins him for an enchanting duet about the fruits of true companionship. Scott, who’s known to inject some sarcasm into his lyrics, is less hopeful on the otherwise lush chamber pop of “Miserable Meal,” another collaboration with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra: “All aboard the S.S. Shithole/The captain says we’ll make it/But I disagree.”