_{By Andy McFerren}

To me, Polyresin by Ambedo is about friendship. I’m not sure if the band set out to make the album about that, but that’s what I think of when I listen to it. Yes, there are explicit references to friends in the lyrics like in “Hold Me Down” where he sings “We could visit love again just like we’re old friends,” or in “Moving” where it says, “But the slow moving pictures reminds me of lost friends.” But everything else about it exudes an energy of friends coming together to make an album, from the shouts on “Everyday” to the D&D sessions used as interludes. And it makes me think of the deep friendships I’ve had the privilege of making during my lifetime. 

As kids, we are raised to cherish our friendships. The most intense experiences of our young lives are with our friends. Sleepovers, playing video games, and late-night chats ranging from incredibly stupid things to being vulnerable with each other about life and our place in it. And we have our first best friend where for the first time in our lives, it feels like someone just gets exactly what it means to be us – like there is a wire going directly from our brain to theirs. 

And yet, as we grow older distractions come up: the impulse to want something more than friendship. Your first crush, boyfriends, girlfriends, and then high school, college, and later a career, marriage, or finding lifetime partnership. All along the way we’re taught that that’s a part of growing up, and that we won’t be as close with our friends. That’s just life. 

It saddens me that we aren’t ever taught how to maintain those important friendships all while pursuing those things, because friendship is crucial in this life. We need those people who ground us in our past not only to remind us who we are but to remind us how far we’ve come – or maybe just to ground us in a new place. Regardless, we need friends as we grow old, and if I learned one thing from my business classes in college, it’s that it’s a lot easier to retain an employee than hire a new one. 

All of this to say, tell your friends you love them. Or that you miss them. Or just talk to them. They’re probably going through some stuff. I know that I don’t do it enough. There will always be an excuse not to reach out, but I know that sometimes I just need my friends. We all do. And after you’ve done that, go listen to Polyresin by Ambedo. 

I am incredibly lucky to have some of the best friends in the world who make an effort to still include me in their lives despite being in drastically different phases of life. Friends who are there for me when the crap hits the fan, friends who support me in the pursuit of my dreams, and more importantly, friends who still want to hang out with me even though I am not nearly as good at Mario Kart as I used to be. And this album reminds me of them.

Make sure to follow Ambedo on Instagram and listen to “Hold Me Down” below!