The song continues the group’s streak of endearing and thought-provoking releases, all on truly DIY terms.

Kicking off the new year, Rowan and Friends are back with ‘If You Lose a Friend,’ a release coming hot on the heels of the wonderful ‘5 Golden Greats’ EP from September last year. Actually released early on Spotify and everywhere after a Distrokid typo meant it went up two weeks early, listed as having released on 5^th January 2023, today is the official release of this new single.

Leaning into the Richard Dawson/Magnetic Fields influences suggested by the more pensive tracks on ‘5 Golden Greats,’ while building around a more traditional folk structure, ‘If You Lose a Friend’ is tender without falling into sentimentality. Its philosophical explorations send its meaning into a more abstract context, even in moments where specific phrases are insistently candid. Midway through, a trail of ‘ifs’ leading from the personal to a relatively human rendering of the Christ story, one that feels heavier for its intransigence.

Rowan and Friends continue to hit the mark with these formal releases, coming as they do between more off-the-cuff Soundcloud demo uploads and Instagram Reel experiments. It is a welcome approach to releasing music, with DIY attitude meeting an eye for detail when it is needed. Damn right it was accidentally released early. It’s one of the finest songs of January 2023 and/or January 2024.