Biography
As their name suggests, Montreal indie-folk outfit Friend of All the World craft tunes that evoke the camaraderie of a kitchen party or the fellowship that springs up between strangers who meet on the road. Perhaps that’s because songwriter and front man, Rob Cole, employed a hitchhiker’s optimism and an ad on Craigslist to assemble the band.
Friend’s 2009 debut, Up These Branches, was largely a solo effort by Cole, released in the hopes of attracting like-minded musicians with his haunting harmonies and rustic acoustic riffs. Through a series of local gigs to promote the album, Friend of All the World found its footing and came to include Cole, Celine Bianchi, Benoit Duval, Kenton Mail, and Steph Park, who together are carrying the band’s sound into more collaborative territory.
Their new release, The Wild, has the same melodic hook of Cole’s earlier songs, but explores greater emotional range. Harmonies are brought forward (“Smokestack”) and rich arrangements (“You,” “The Heartwood”) conjure melancholy without melodrama. The result is the sense of shared intimacy to which the band’s name (taken from the Kipling classic, Kim) alludes: these are songs you can take with you on the road, for both the sweet and rough parts of the ride.
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