The Formerly Misinformed & Secret Postal Society – Single Review: “Underneath the Same Stars”

Single Artwork by Raj Chand of Weird Triangle

In the creation of music, good things often arise when artists of different backgrounds come together to collaborate on a song or album, as the pooling of their individual songwriting and musical talents and feeding off each other’s creativity can generate some wonderful musical alchemy. Such is the case with the new collaborative single “Underneath the Same Stars”, by Texas indie rock band The Formerly Misinformed and Welsh indie artist Secret Postal Society, the music project of prolific singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Craig Mapstone.

The Formerly Misinformed is a family band comprised of siblings Brandon Green, Erica Jones and Emily Henney, and their father Terry Green. Together, they create a pleasing brand of alternative indie rock, with strong elements of folk and singer-songwriter. Brandon also hosts and produces a music podcast Gimme These Two. They released their debut album All In A Dream in 2020, followed by a number of singles and an EP Let’s Pretend it’s Fine in 2022.

Photo of The Formerly Misinformed by Eric Cabrera

As Secret Postal Society, Craig wrote, recorded and released an astonishing 53 songs in 2021. Though his music style can generally be described as primarily pop-rock infused with indie folk, it’s actually quite eclectic, often drawing upon elements of progressive, experimental, grunge, post-punk and alternative rock. I’ve previously featured him twice on this blog, in which I wrote about his herculean songwriting efforts, which you can read about here and here. Since then, the busy guy has released more music, took over as host of the Welsh Connections Playlist radio show, and along with his friends Mike Kennedy and Kaysha Louvain, created TIWN Media and TIWN PR & Plugging, which also produces and monthly magazine featuring news, reviews and articles about independent artists from Wales and beyond.

Photo of Craig Mapstone by Jon Plimmer of GSD Media

Brandon and Craig collaborated on “Underneath the Same Stars”, co-writing, recording and producing the track remotely from their respective homes in Texas and Wales. Each recorded their parts and ideas, emailing them back and forth as they gradually built up the song from scratch. Additional vocals were sung by The Formerly Misinformed member Erica.

The result is five minutes of musical bliss. The song has a pleasing vibe and a compelling melody, but what’s particularly striking to my ears is the outstanding instrumentation. Brandon and Craig’s dual guitar work is both intricate and stunning, with a colorful array of textures that go from chiming and shimmery, to jangly and grungy. The bass, percussion and piano are all superb too, and I love that deep throbbing bassline in the bridge, accompanied by an enchanting psychedelic guitar riff.

As for the song’s meaning, Craig explained that it’s “a stream of consciousness about time passing and the ups and downs of life, and how – no matter how far apart two people are geographically – we can still be there for one another as we’re all underneath the same stars.” Both Brandon and Craig share vocal duties, and their comforting, low-key vocal styles complement each other quite well. Erica’s gentle backing vocals in the choruses blend nicely with Craig’s as they sing “It’s OK love, I will still be here when everything is falling down. Don’t be scared. Although we’re far apart, we’re still underneath the same stars.”

“Underneath the Same Stars” is a wonderful song, and a fine collaboration between two very talented acts. I hope The Formerly Misinformed and Secret Postal Society will create more music together again!