Common Blah is the debut full-length by Portland, Maine’s Weakened Friends. Founded by songwriter Sonia Sturino, bassist Annie Hoffman, and drummer Cam Jones in 2015, the trio is a low-pressure outlet for emotionally volatile music. Engineered and produced by Hoffman and perfected over the last year, the record broadcasts heavy feelings amid screech and feedback with little more than a distortion pedal the clog up the signal chain.
Many of the songs reckon with deep mid-20s malaise — with the feeling of being young, stuck, and settling for less. ͞Sometimes, things look good on the outside, but they͛re not working. That͛s how it used to be for me. I͛d hear, ͚You have a really cool job. You live in a cool city. Your band is cool.͛ It was ͚Common Blah͛ though because I was miserable. I didn͛t care. Now, I͛m at the other end of the spectrum. People do something that they think they͛re supposed to do when it͛s not what they should be doing and it doesn͛t make them happy. In a lot of ways, this is the first time I͛ve found happiness. I wrote the lyrics about the time before that happiness. On Common Blah, Weakened Friends use volume — instrumental and emotional — to reassert a sense of control in a time when daily life has slid out of tune. The album also features guest shredding by peer and kindred spirit J Mascis on the song Hate Mail. Common Blah will be out on CD, LP, and digital download via Don Giovanni Records on October 19th.
