Hard to Find a Friend's Best of 2008 - #1

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Pershing (Polyvinyl)

[mp3] Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Think I Wanna Die
Buy it at Insound

703 times - the number of times I've played a song from Pershing this year, according to my Last.fm data. 703 plays, for an album with ten songs (the short, barely there interlude at the end doesn't count) translates into 70 full listens through of this fantastic album. Impressive, considering the album came out on April 8 - a mere 32 weeks ago, which means that I have listened to this album, all the way through at least 2 times a week since April. So, suffice to say - Pershing was a point of obsession for me in 2008.

There are certain albums that you just can't stop listening to, albums that will not exit your sub-conscious, albums that soundtrack your life. Pershing, much like The Blue Album, & The Coast is Never Clear before it, Pershing sound-tracked my spring and summer, keeping me and my closest of friends company on several road trips across the country, countless late night drives home, and even a few lazy afternoons indoors. There's not a second of this record I couldn't identify were you to play it for me, and I can safely say that it is, indeed, my favorite album of 2008 - hands down.

If 2006's Broom was the perfect portrait of 4 dudes in a college town making home-spun songs just for the heck of it, Pershing is the frame-by-frame progression of those same 4 dudes growing up, watching friends come and go, watching their afternoons go by from the back of a Ford Econoline, and waking up in a new town every morning. Their songs matured as well, both those penned by sometimes drummer/sometimes guitarist Phillip Dickey and sometimes guitarist/sometimes bassist John Robert Caldwell, and with them, the sound of this record. Yes, while Broom was so lovable for it's charmingly lo-fi tendencies, Pershing is a shocking upgrade to hi-fi which only further allows the listener enjoyment of the subtle nuances of a band who knows how to intricately weave knotty, melodic guitars and bass lines better than almost anyone.

Needless to say, I cannot reccomend you buy this album enough. You can watch the Backstage Session we did with SSLYBY & Via Audio here. You can hear the band's contribution to our holiday charity album, Peace on Earth by clicking here. Thanks for the soundtrack to our summer, guys.