Copenhagen based alt indie rock quintet TO ABSENT FRIENDS are back with their debut-album “Smore & Mirrors” and the hard-hitting first single “Take it or leave it”. A song which radiates nerve and modern rock and invites the listener into the captivating and evocative universe of To Absent Friends, and consolidates a shift in both sound and style for the Copenhagen-based band. Centered around a pulsating back beat, chiming guitar-riffs and swooning laid-back crooner vocals, a meticulously arranged soundscape unfolds, which both displays the band’s new five-stringed format and simultaneously hints at what the new album has to offer.
Inspired by the likes of Alexandra Savior, Balthazar and Kasabian, To Absent Friends debuted as a duo in 2017 with their first single titled “If Tomorrow Dies” and quickly gained attention in the Danish media and was stated as “a very promising act” by Danish newspapers B.T. and MetroXpress. The band have since been working on their full-length debut album and have also evolved from duo into quintet.
According to the band “SMOKE & MIRRORS” is a double-sided concept album where each individual track can be seen as chapters of a coherent storyline. On the new single ”Take it or leave it” the band underlines that the lyrical aspect is a cornerstone of To Absent Friends’ moody universe.
Composer, singer and guitarist, Jonas Johansson, states:
“To me the lyric is the line between the music and the message of a song. This thinking has been at the core of developing our songs on the forthcoming album. We have aimed to string together the album and encompass the different moods conveyed on the individual tracks. “Take it or leave it” is the track that sparks the beginning of the sonic journey.”
Mixed by Marius Balsløv, and mastered by Mikkel Gemzøe (Varibeat), “Take it or leave it” was released on Friday the 28th of February via Believe Digital. The song is written, composed and produced by Jonas Johansson.
Johansson adds:
“The song is about that one look that has you thrown into the arms of a stranger. It is about the intense fascination of someone and how the attraction to this other person makes you forget all logic and common sense. On one hand wonderful but at the same time strangely disturbing. A moment in awe as ones vision is tunneled on the pure excitement and uncertainty of the unknown. This is the scenario that the protagonist experiences and this random meeting shapes the rest of the plot onwards through the album.”
First part of the debut album, “SMOKE”, is set to be released June 5th, 2020 via the distribution company Believe Digital. Later this year the second part of the album “MIRRORS” will be released. Last month the band shared the prelude “SMOKE” with an additional video as a teaser-trailer for the upcoming first part of the album.
In spring of 2019, To Absent Friends went on a pre-release tour around Denmark showcasing the forthcoming album and received great praise for their energetic and well-performed live shows. In October, To Absent Friends played last show of the past decade alongside Norwegian pop-sensation Fieh in a sold-out VEGA in Copenhagen.
About the performance, Bands of Tomorrow wrote:
”To Absent Friends most certainly lit the crowd with cutting melodic guitar-riffs, reckless serenades and charming laid-back attitude”, and according to the band, one can expect more of this on the upcoming album. To Absent Friends are just about ready to kick down the doors to the new decade and are looking at a promising year with multiple releases and a long string of live shows.
Cover: Britta My Thomsen
UPCOMING LIVE SHOWS
25.04 – URBAN 13 (CPH) – Pipeline Collective Showcase-event
02.05 – SPOT-festival (AAR) – Pipeline Collective Showcase-event
“To Absent Friends is a Danish band, whose haunting sound will leave you mesmerized (…) I can’t wait to see what they come up with on their new album” – Cut It Out Magazine (US)
“The Danes can look forward to a new name on the Indie Scene” – B.T Danish Newspaper) (DK)
“A very promising act” – MetroXpress (Danish Newspaper, now B.T.Metro) (DK)
“Strong debut with a powerful and moving message” – Bands of Tomorrow (DK)
