The New Frontiers, Mending

So, it appears that I’m once again too late. The New Frontiers, the quintet out of Dallas, has disbanded and frankly, it’s a shame. Another promising band calling it quits too early — and not just too early, but one week before I listen to their album. Think of this less as a review and more as a eulogy; besides, the good ones always die young, right?

Mending is a wonderful bit of nostalgia, at least for those who grew up in the late ’90s. The opening track, “Black Lungs,” is a time warp straight back to the days when the Wallflowers, the Counting Crows, and Ben Folds Five topped the charts. Every member knows his part and has obviously studied the style and tools of their predecessors. The New Frontiers crafted a sincere and honest album without coming off as overly emotional or sappy. Songs titles like “The Day You Fell Apart” and “This is My Home” might bring up thoughts of an emotional high school girl but really are great examples of the musical maturity of New Frontiers.

So much of Mending is carefully executed and precisely arranged — never too much dobro nor too little piano, everything is where you expect it to be. Even songs like “Strangers,” the one song I might consider overly emotional, manages to do nearly everything right: an acoustic guitar opening that builds and swells into a piece of musical Americana that requires the full participation of every band member.

It’s strange to talk about music in these terms, but it’s so rare that you find music that can elicit this kind of emotional response, and Mending does such a fantastic job of coaxing out those memories and making them new. If you remember fondly the days of Friends, coffee shops, and anything else that defined the late ’90s, then you’ll feel right home with Mending.

It’s indie rock for the people who grew up on Dylan and Alison Krauss. It’s the home cooking after being away for college. It’s the road trip you took after you got your license. It’s thinking about your first love, and it’s wonderful. It’s hard to not feel nostalgic about Mending, but it’s almost unavoidable. It’s almost an experience, one that everyone can relate to because it’s a defining moment in their life. It’s music that people will understand.