Music Review: The Friend Ship, ‘All Aboard!’
The Twin Cities supergroup’s EP showcases each artist’s gifts, separately and in perfect harmony.
The Friend Ship’s All Aboard EP artwork.
I believe in friendship, love, and all our glory.
- Joel Sax
There comes, every so often, a perfect combination—an alignment of the spheres; just the right thing at the right time. That is The Friend Ship and their new EP All Aboard.
Joel Sax gathered a super group of popular Twin Cities Americana artists who each brought a song or two to this gorgeous record. It was produced by the illustrious combination of Dave Mehling, Nikki Lemire, and Sarah Morris and completed live off the floor in January 2026 at Minneapolis’s River Rock Studios.
The hallmark of The Friend Ship is harmony. Isn’t that the hallmark of any friendship? The harmony on the choruses is full and artful. All the tones and textures mix perfectly. Voices support and lean on one another, disappearing and reappearing in ways that change the overall essence of sound here in a scintillating, rotating kaleidoscope of vocal color, depth, and shine.
This is a group that knows how to listen closely to one another—to provide space and time for each timbre of voice and instrument. Every one of the six-member group writes, plays, and harmonizes with just the right touch. There are no standouts among the group, instruments, or among the songs—as in a true friendship, all parts are essential and equal.
pieces of your brain stay up all night
- “Do You Know Where You’re Going” - Dave Mehling
This song contains a delightful and amiable conversation between Dave Mehling’s and Matthew French’s electric guitar parts, driving together on the wide open road of this song. The tones are complementary, yet unique. French’s broad chord sweeps are expansive with a sting, adding kick and spice to Mehling’s battered stratocaster. It feels as though you’ve dropped the hammer in a rough old muscle car at one in the morning, reminding it of what it used to be under that aged patina. It feels like acceleration and the release of some power, while you’re “suckin’ on that cigarette.” These are the truths that arise during road trips where, “you ask for forgiveness / in fact you insist it.”
All the while, Marc Severin’s acoustic guitar work powers the song’s rolling boogie, until speaking up in the six-string conversation during the solo, taking the role of a train whistle—announcing the motion of a locomotive under full power.
Everything falls away to feature the vocal harmonies in the chorus. Severin provides this endless distance between the high tones of this song and his deep, resounding baritone. Throughout the song, Mehling’s tenor carries an echo of Paul Simon.
I’ve got a story without an ending
that only you can complete
- “Come In Close” - Nikki Lemire
Each of the members of The Friend Ship can and do headline their own shows. This is a beautiful and ephemeral combination of in-demand talent and skill. Nowhere is that more evident than in Nikki Lemire and this song. Her vocals and songwriting are lush and munificent. She has a vocal dexterity akin to Rachel Price, with a sumptuous warmth that is uniquely hers—just magnetic. Joel Sax’s harmonies are light, thoughtful, and ultimately perfect. In “Come In Close” Lemire articulates our very own ultimate desire—to be the ultimate desire of someone else. The recording is alluring and simply magnificent.
all you see is a day that you will struggle to get through
it’s going to take some time
- “I Wrote The Book” - Marc Severin
Marc Severin’s songwriting and performance on this album is complete and utter gold. This song is the ultimate and generous offering of “I’ve been there too.” Its vulnerability lives in the lyrics and in the tiny bit of grit just beneath the surface of Severin’s voice. This is a voice that has seen “a full frontal assault,” and has lived enough to know that there is a place in the story of hopelessness for the idea of hope. The honesty of the track from tip to stern gets straight at something living somewhere deep inside the chest. It is a gift.
I know, I know
- “You Left Me in the Rain” - Joel Sax
Nowhere is the power of the harmonies more evident than in this song. The contrast in sound—from a single voice to the entire Friend Ship choir in full sympathetic richness singing, “I know, I know”—is luminous. When on the last chorus the volume of the instrumentation drops and the harmonies stagger behind Sax’s lead, the impact is nearly indescribable in its elegance. It’s one of the most gorgeous moments on the record.
If it ain’t bad news, it ain’t no news at all
- “Leave A Little Love” - Matthew French
As is right and just, this one has been previously recorded. A song of this magnitude and impact belongs to the world in a myriad of iterations. The version recorded for The Friend Ship includes a thoughtful and brilliant arpeggio that only a classic harpist could bring to a piano part. Nikki Lemire’s reimagining of the rhythm and delivery of the song’s foundation is stunning. French’s writing and precise vocals serve this song in a way that chimes with the sentiment of the song itself. It is a song that is of use to us all. It is a song that you owe yourself to hear.
There’s an uncomplicated and natural flow from song to song—from one vocalist and songwriter to the next—a nod to the album sequencing and storytelling talents of Sarah Morris. It’s incredibly easy for this album to dart by you as it captivates, leaving you to hit whatever button within your reach to hear it again.
You’ve got a chance to see The Friend Ship live at their EP release show February 28th at the Aster Cafe!
The Friend Ship. Photo courtesy of the artists.
Not only did The Friend Ship record this EP live off of the floor, they made videos of the session!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Doyle Turner. Photo credit: no_aesthetic_stills.
Doyle Turner loves words. Whether it is shaping syllables into songs, poems, early morning journals, handwritten thank yous, lists, or album reviews, he is in a deep and abiding relationship with his college-ruled paper, Uniball Signo 207 .7mm pens, and mostly his keyboard. A good day is spent taking pictures, mailing things, making the words convey the precise meaning, driving, and singing.
