mutual benefit

mutual benefit is the sound of everything making sense, if just for a second. It is the magic of ordinary moments. [email protected] http://mutualbenef.it http://www.facebook.com/mutualbenefit

[mutualbenefit]

Tickets are now available for our Fall tour! You can scoop 'em up below or learn more about the upcoming album over at http://www.mutualbenef.it/thunder-follows-the-light

Thank You <3

Thu. Aug. 30 - New York, NY - MoMA free with admission

Mon. Oct. 22 – Belfast, IRE - Empire Music Hall https://www1.ticketmaster.ie/event/380054B9A0190D62

Tue. Oct. 23 - Cork, IRE - Cyprus Avenue https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/mutual-benefit-tickets-47436108…

Thu. Oct. 24 – Dublin, IRE Whelan's https://www.ticketmaster.ie/venueartist/198293/1766981

Sat. Oct. 26 - Glasgow, U.K - The Great Eastern https://www.synergyconcerts.com/…/932788c0-3fd9-0136-8849-1…

Sun. Oct. 27 – Newcastle, U.K - The Cluny bit.ly/MutualBenefit-Cluny

Mon. Oct. 28 - Bristol, U.K - The Exchange https://www.colstonhall.org/shows/mutual-benefit-2

Wed. Oct. 30 – London, U.K - Oslo https://www.seetickets.com/event/mutual-benefit/oslo/1229695

Thu. Oct. 31 – Manchester, U.K - YES https://www.seetickets.com/…/mutual-…/now-wave-venue/1243346

Fri. Nov. 1 – Birmingham, U.K - Hare & Hounds https://www.skiddle.com/…/Hare-And…/Mutual-Benefit/13224182/

Sun. Nov. 3 – Aberfeldy, U.K - Aberfeldy Town Hall (Aberfeldy Festival) www.aberfeldyfestival.co.uk

Mon. Nov. 4 - Leeds, U.K - Brudenell Social Club https://www.seetickets.com/…/…/brudenell-social-club/1243414

Tue. Nov. 13 – Los Angeles, CA - Resident https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1723538…

Wed. Nov. 14 – San Diego, CA - Soda Bar https://ticketf.ly/2lA69V2

Thu. Nov. 15 – Santa Ana, CA - Constellation Room http://bit.ly/2KnSR8V

Sat. Nov. 17 – San Francisco, CA - Chapel https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1723277…

Mon. Nov. 19 – Portland, OR - Doug Fir https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1723245

Tue. Nov. 20 – Seattle, WA - Vera https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1723023…

Wed. Nov. 21 – Vancouver, BC - Biltmore https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1723058

Fri. Nov. 30 – Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry https://www.etix.com/…/mutual-benefit-minneapolis-7th-st-en…

Sat. Dec. 1 – Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mutual-benefit-the-empty-bottl…

Mon. Dec. 3 – Toronto, ON - The Garrison https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1723191…

Tue. Dec. 4 – Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz http://blueskiesturnblack.com/show/2000

Wed. Dec. 5 – Boston, MA - Great Scott http://axs.com/events/356953/mutual-benefit-tickets…

Fri. Dec. 7 – Washington, D.C - DC9 https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1723656…

Sat. Dec. 8th – New York, NY - Park Church Co-Op https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1723544…

[mutualbenefit]

[mutualbenefit]

[mutualbenefit]

Happy album announcement day! I can finally share some of the music I’ve been working on the last couple years. Thunder Follows the Light speaks to the power of collective memory and all the ways we deal with the storms raging outside and inside of us. I hope you enjoy the first two singles, Storm Cellar Heart and New History. This was a hugely collaborative work with some of my favorite musicians.

You can hear the songs and read much more about the album here: http://www.mutualbenef.it/thunder-follows-the-light.

Gratitude Attitude

[mutualbenefit]

Dear London and Paris, it has been too long! I'll be back in May with an album's worth of new songs that I can't wait to share. I'm putting together a rare solo(ish?) set to match these intimate spaces so I hope you can make it out <3

23rd May – Paris, Olympic Café Ticket link http://www.digitick.com/mutual-benefit-soiree-olympic-cafe-…

24th May – London, The Lexington Ticket link https://rockfeedback.seetickets.com/event/mutual-benefit-solo-/the-lexington/1202610

[mutualbenefit]

We’re doing a lil house show tour starting today

PS we finished our album yesterday :)

info

[mutualbenefit]

Break out the aubergine and Old Speckled Hen, we are headed back to Europe in November!! More info at http://www.mutualbenef.it/tour/

11.12 // Berlin, DE // Badehaus Szimpla 11.13 // Hamburg, DE // Nochtspeicher 11.14 // Brussels, BE // Botanique 11.15 // Rotterdam, NL // Rotown 11.17 // London, UK // Cecil Sharp House 11.18 // Sheffield, UK // Picture House Social Club 11.19 // Glasgow, UK // The Hug and the Pint 11.20 // Dublin, IE // Whelan's 11.22 // Manchester, UK // Gullivers 11.23 // Birmingham, UK // Hare and Hounds 11.24 // Bristol, UK // The Lantern at Colston Hall 11.25 // Oxford, UK // The Bullingdon

Thanks to Megan Manowitz for the tour poster <3

[mutualbenefit]

We are going on tour with Quilt this Fall!!! They have been inspiring me for years since we were all youngsters in Boston and it is an infinite pleasure to share a bunch of stages with them this September. Also we are going back to Europe in November for a bunch more shows and espresso. Hopefully see you around and thanks to Anna + Shane for the beautiful poster <333

You can click the link below for advance tix

9.9 // Athens, GA // Caledonia Lounge 9.10 // Atlanta, GA // The Earl 9.11 // Birmingham, AL // Syndicate Lounge 9.12 // Tallahassee, FL // Club Downunder 9.14 // New Orleans, LA // Hi-Ho Lounge 9.15 // Houston, // Rudyard's 9.16 // Austin, TX // Antone's 9.17 // Dallas, TX // Club Dada 9.21 // Louisville, KY // Zanzabar 9.23 // Toronto, ON // The Garrison 9.24 // Buffalo, NY // Mohawk Place 9.25 // Kingston, NY // BSP Lounge

http://mutualbenef.it/tour

[mutualbenefit]

Happy album release day everyone!!! Skip a Sinking Stone now exists in the world and can be listened to on road trips to esoteric museums, on headphones in a crowded street to quell claustrophobia, or maybe softly in a kitchen while cooking your family's secret recipe. It can be purchased here: http://www.mutualbenef.it/

This album was a hugely collaborative effort so thank you very, very much to the following people for musical and recording contributions:

Jake Falby: violin/synth/vocals Dillon Zahner: drums/guitar Mike Clifford: guitar/piano/bass/vocals Carlos Hernandez: piano Julian Fader: drums Whitney Lee: vocals Renata Zeiguer: additional violin Emmet Moeller: viola Ali Jones: cello Bruce Falby: flute Noah Klein: additional flute Dan Goldberg: synth tali stern: bass Brian Bo: vibraphone Dave Kadden: oboe Stefan Grabowski: noise

Trés Myers for lyrical help on City Sirens Carlos Hernandez for string arrangement help on Many Returns Jake Falby for string arrangement help everywhere else

L O V E j+

[mutualbenefit]

Skip a Sinking Stone Lyrics

SKIPPING STONES

you are the first thing I see

when I open my eyes when I wake from a dream

you’re the light through a rip in the seams

burst forth from the night

onto dust as it gleams

but with the morning sun we also see

blurry shapes appear so gradually

I’m so afraid to feel this way again

but I let you in

love is the loudest of sounds

it’s the hymn in the air

it’s the dirge from the ground

you’ve got a hold over me

until my world disappears

and you’re all I see

but in solitude we’re often chased

by the truths we are afraid to face

and it takes more than just a fleeting dream

to set us free

like how we tried to skip a sinking stone

just to watch how long that it could go

I’m so afraid to fall in love again

I know how it ends

And if I try and skip a sinking stone

Maybe it'll be the one that goes

Forever as it starts its flight

Towards the horizon line

CLOSER, STILL

we walked

miles

to see

nothing

try to

keep it

better than your secrets

we sat

hours

to hear

nothing

past where

words flow

a place that only we know

LOST DREAMERS

let’s take the long way home

let’s throw away our phones

we can see stars from here

why would we go back anywhere

I wanna forget every name

so we could be anything

dreaming of distant states

where we can finally get away

and if we get lost in a dream

wasn’t it worth all we’ve seen

high off of some strange hope

why would we ever go back home

GETTING GONE

out from the sleeping bag

another day to be had

and it almost feels like new

but I was dreaming of you

And now we're back on the road

Another season of shows

Until every thought is gone

And we're just rolling along

and I forgot how to feel

every sight is surreal

if there’s one that that I know

its that all good times go

and the hard times too

and the life that we have

was the dream of my youth

it was too good to be true

and the highway stretches on

but I just want to get gone

NOT FOR NOTHING

winding road and setting suns

takes us back from where we’ve come

and I don’t want to see this love

become a memory

broken wings won’t get me far

just the backseat of this car

and as our distance grows apart

I hope you wait for me

swaying trees and powerlines

always hypnotize my mind

I fear it’s not enough this time

to stop from wondering

if things will ever go our way

when I can’t seem to stay in place

could it be love that makes us change

its not for nothing

starry nights and moonlit skies

I think I got it bad this time

I stayed up looking for a sign

out the window

and though at times we lose our ways

home is closer everyday

just a little past the haze

its not for nothing

SLOW MARCH

won’t you say

what you mean

lately I’ve been staring cross-eye’d

just to see

what it is

that’s in your heart

a place so tucked away

it’s hidden from yourself

what does it take

to be at peace

to accept the things

that linger out of reach

I wish you’d say

what’s on your mind

I feel a slow march

towards a dark place

all the time

say what you mean

is it time to leave

say what you mean

say the thing I can’t

MANY RETURNS

the evening

creeps in slowly

until there's nothing

I don’t know

what to do

I always come

back to you

and it never

can be easy

believing something

when it seems

far away

working towards

a distant day

when you see the lie in front of you

it just takes time before it seems like truth

believe the light inside of you

the world will dim it so it won’t come true

this place is

so full of darkness

it’s hard to look at

i don’t know

what to do

I always come

back to you

and I wish I

was so much stronger

facing forwards

a cynic’s words

try to sway

working towards

a distant day

when you see the lie in front of you

it just takes time before it seems like truth

believe the light inside of you

the world will dim it so it won’t come true

CITY SIRENS

Sorrow echoes

Through broken windows

The song the cars sing

Sound so piercing

It's hard to run from

City sirens

today

killers exposed

through broken windows

there’s oaths that they swore

but what’s it all for

no peace comes from

city sirens

no peace for some

today

FIRE ESCAPE

The other day

On the fire escape

When the outside world

Was too much to take

staying up for the sunrise

pastel hues on

the distant skyline  

walking down

our old avenue

the murals changed

and so have you

avoiding trash on the sidewalk

humming songs

while I find a trainstop

and underground

on the JMZ

where subway rats

run behind beams

I remember something you told me

that nothing worth it is ever easy

I brought you into my daydream

but wasn’t ready for you to wake me

THE HEREAFTER

What's to say

When we break

When the skin that was binding

Melts away

What's to see

Underneath

where the light that’s projected

cannot be seen

Skip a stone

Across the pond

Past the swaying reeds

And dragonflies

The hiding fish

We try to sight

Let it sink

It always does

It goes further down

And further down

to murky depths

Where light is found

Who's to say

How one’s saved

From the things left unspoken

that have no name

what’s it worth

can love die

or does it come back and find us

every time

every time

[katherinehillierillustration]

“So, my dreams have been showing a recurring theme lately. They are what I’ve been calling “mass production” dreams because they involve large groups of people. Just people everywhere. It’s almost like a nightmare, since I’m an introvert with social anxiety. So I’ll be swimming through this sea of people, kind of weightless. And the people that I end up latching onto are people from my past who have hurt me in some way or another. They treat me well and help me on my journey. But then I wake up. My life is empty, and those people haven’t changed.”

Here’s my illustration of this affecting dream submitted to @mutualbenefit, to help promote their beautiful new single, ‘Lost Dreamers’. 

Make sure you check it out! http://www.mutualbenef.it/lost-dreamers/

[ovadiabenishu]

“I dreamt that I was lying down in a patch of grass in downtown Baltimore, staring up at the sky and the cityscape.  All of a sudden, I spotted a huge group of people riding bicycles across the sky.  They were all draped in black sheets and they were cawing like crows.  They landed on top of a building that was towering over me and then walked down and sat in an amphitheater that was also close by.  They removed their sheets, smiled, and said, thank you for being here to watch us!”

I illustrated a dream to @mutualbenefit  #LostDreamers

For more: http://smarturl.it/MBLostDreamers

[walkyland]

“My dream is to collect all my years of concert photography from amateur crowd shots to my professional pit shots and band portraits in a coffee table photo book that shows the progression of a photographer from music fan/enthusiast to music journalist/professional.”

I illustrated this dream which was submitted to @mutualbenefit #LostDreamers

What are you dreaming about?  http://smarturl.it/MBLostDreamers

[mutualbenefit]

AHHHH Our new song, Lost Dreamers, is finally out today (!!!) It was one of the biggest collaborations we've tried to pull off. I hope it transports you to the garden of your mind <3

Also / we are putting together an animated patchwork of dreams so click here if you want to submit one + get a chance to win an album bundle with a signed test pressing >>> http://smarturl.it/MBLostDreamers

‪#‎LostDreamers‬

[mutualbenefit]

Test pressing approved and new sounds coming very, very soon!!!

http://www.mutualbenef.it/

[mutualbenefit]

Hello from beautiful Boston, In the midsts of record announcement bluster, I wanted to mention the album bundle that @momandpopmusic had me put together. It includes a limited edition Skip a Sinking Stone LP or CD + a hand-stamped dream journal + a photograph from cameras we brought on this tour.

A lot of the process of making Skip a Sinking Stone involved paying closer attention to the internal cues of dreams and using them to try and make better sense of the world around me. I like the idea of making that headspace part of the experience of the album.

I can't wait for this thing to finally come out!

Pre-order CD/LP here: http://smarturl.it/MutualBenefitStore Pre-order digital here: http://smarturl.it/MutualBenefitSASS1 Tour: http://www.mutualbenef.it/tour/

[mutualbenefit]

Hello! @momandpopmusic​ and @crookedletterfilms​ got some really nice footage of us working on Skip a Sinking Stone at Silent Barn last year. Click the link to see the whole version and me being even more inarticulate. 

Watch here: http://smarturl.it/MBMakingOf