Nicki Bluhm gets funky with Oliver Wood on “Friends (How to Do It)”. The singer-songwriter will release her new album, Avondale Drive, via Compass Records on 3rd June. It’s among Bluhm’s most personal outings—a musical autobiography where she shucks the expectations of others in exchange for being her unapologetic self. “Friends (How to Do It)” is cut from the album and gets into a groove both musically and conversationally between her and guest artist Oliver Wood (The Wood Brothers), who completes the duet with his guitar and vocals. It’s prime Americana, slinking between playful bluesy and soulful strides.
Bluhm tells PopMatters, “’Friends (How to Do It)’, a duet with Oliver Wood, is an amusing shake of the head at the follies of dating in the modern world. I had been married for ten years and was suddenly thrown back into the dating pool as a divorcèe with absolutely no tools or wherewithal of how to do it.”
“Vulnerable and clueless, I met a guy on tour, and we kept in touch as friends, or so I thought. It shocked me when, now and then, he would randomly kiss me; in the middle of the kitchen, in a parking lot. I was so confused. When I tried to clarify our relationship (were we friends? more than friends?), he told me that men and women could never be friends. I joked about the classic Nora Ephron film When Harry Met Sally, and he straight-faced told me he had never seen the movie. Wow, OK, so this really is a thing, a known dilemma of all genders with no real answer. After a lot of trial and error, I did finally come to a conclusion of my own which is that not only can men and women be friends, they must be to have a healthy, safe and prosperous relationship. Love ought to feel safe.”
“Friends (How to Do It)” is available to pre-save now. It also features drummer and percussionist Jay Bellerose, bassist Jen Condos, Wurlitzer and organ from Trevor Nealon, and background vocals courtesy of Kai Welch.