Last year, it was revealed that Mutual Benefit (aka Jordan Lee) had signed with Mom+Pop to release the follow-up to his 2013 debut, Love’s Crushing Diamond. Today, that highly anticipated album has been given a title and due date: Skip a Sinking Stone is set for release on May 20th.
Skip a Sinking Stone came together in two parts. The first half was written as Lee was on the road following the release of Love’s Crushing Diamond and thus finds Lee joyously exploring new friends, collaborations, fans, and a budding romance. The second half was written when Lee had settled in New York, for the first time given the space and money to work full-time on making music. Not only was Lee unusually still during this time, but the city around him was increasingly angry, disheartening, and chaotic, especially following the Eric Garner verdict. Plus, his relationship was in trouble.
“I kept coming back to how nice that was, throwing these stones against the water,” Lee said of the album’s title and themes in a press release. “I thought it was a fitting metaphor for the endeavors I have in my life — sometimes they work out and sometimes they don’t. I think it’s a good exercise in accepting impermanence and failure and these things that are constant, and yet the activity of skipping stones is really relaxing and beautiful.”
These peaks and valleys of life are the central theme of the album’s lead single, “Not for Nothing”. Presented via its partially rotoscoped video, you can listen to the optimistic yet realistic folk song below.
Skip a Sinking Stone Album Artwork:
Skip a Sinking Stone Tracklist:
01. Madrugada
02. Skipping Stones
03. Closer Still
04. Lost Dreamers
05. Getting Gone
06. Not for Nothing
07. Nocturne
08. Slow March
09. Many Returns
10. City Sirens
11. Fire Escape
12. The Hereafter
Lee will support Skip a Sinking Stone on the road this spring and summer, including dates with Deer Tick.
Mutual Benefit 2016 Tour Dates:
03/02 – Nashville, TN @ City Winery *
03/03 – Mobile, AL @ Merry Widow *
03/04 – Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder *
03/05 – Orlando, FL @ Avalon Gallery
03/06 – Savannah, GA @ The Sentient Bean
03/07 – Athens, GA @ Georgia Theater *
03/08 – Charleston, SC @ Pour House *
03/09 – Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theater *
03/10 – Washington, DC @ Sixth & I Synagogue *
03/11 – York, PA @ Strand Capitol Performing Arts Center – Strand Theater *
03/12 – Hartford, CT @ Infinity Hall *
03/13 – Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre
03/14 – Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall *
03/15 – Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Art Space *
03/16 – Somerville, MA @ Sommerville Theater *
03/18 – Albany, NY @ The Egg – Swyer Theatre *
03/19 – Buffalo, NY @ Tralf Theatre *
03/20 – Morgantown, WV @ Morgantown Mainstage *
04/25 – Amsterdam, NL @ Sugarfactory
04/26 – Antwerp, BE @ Trix Bar
04/28 – London, UK @ Bush Hall
04/29 – Paris, FR @ Le Point Ephemere
05/27 — Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel
05/28 — Lansing, MI @ Mac’s Bar
05/30 — Pontiac, MI @ Pike Room
05/31 — Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
06/01 — Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
06/05 — Seattle, WA @ Barboza
06/06 — Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
06/08 — San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
06/10 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Resident
06/11 — San Diego, CA @ Casbah
06/14 — Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
06/15 — Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room
06/17 — St. Louis, MO @ The Luminary Center for the Arts
06/18 — Columbus, OH @ The Basement
06/20 — Washington, DC @ DC9
06/21 — Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
06/22 — New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
06/23 — Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
06/24 — Boston, MA @ Great Scott
* = w/ Deer Tick
