The Stanford Mendicants aren't telling the truth about their recently released album Unlucky., as I can't imagine what it is that they are claiming about them or the recording on first sight. It's filled mostly with bright, poppy tunes, with production values providing crisp, crackling electricity suffusing itself through each track. Add the pairing with some engaging arrangements and golden background voices is a major achievement. And pretty fortuitous.

But the major element that belies the concept of being unlucky is the fact that it is nearly impossible to distinguish between the studio recorded and the live tracks on the album. That is a spectacularly commendable feat. Generally, we at RARB suggest that groups don't do integrate mixes such as programmed on Unlucky. because of the wavering in quality between the two recording approaches. I can't make that recommendation here. The Mendicants do a fantastic job maintaining quality and consistency in this arena, most notably the flawless transition between Hammer to the Heart and It Will Rain that then leads into Fallin'. The general tells are the natural-sounding vocal percussion, the slightly brighter tonality in the mix, and the background balance differential. But unless you are actively listening for these differences, they are negligible at best.

In fact, the only song that sounds "live" is actually the slightly dismal and disappointing studio recorded a cappella staple If I Ever Fall in Love. I know that the song fits thematically, but in Beyonce's 2025 this song has to be performed perfectly or reimagined completely and thus reinvigorated. It is neither on this album.

The album's title actually hints at the vulnerability of being in love, and the track list reflects that in songs about heartbreak, longing, regret, reality and resilience. From the seductive manipulation of Unlucky Lady to the raw yearning of Jealous and the catharsis of All I Ask, the album feels like a diary of romantic highs and lows. This attention to a story/concept is remarkable, especially considering the thematic detail that they crafted with the song selection — a detail so overlooked by the singles society.

The arrangers do a fantastic job of crafting simple yet satisfying scores that highlight the talents and musicianship of the group members. Especially Leland Fong, who did a yeoman's amount work on this album penning five charts by himself and co-creating two others of the ten total. Nothing seems overly complicated nor do any of the tracks — save the one that you know — sound bland and repetitive. Many of them come across as evergreen, meaning I could have sung these in my collegiate group thirty years ago, my current group would enjoy singing most of these now, and I could imagine them being just as alluring to some groups a generation from now. Good job guys, keep doing amazing things like this.

My favorite track on the album is the Bobby Caldwell classic What You Won't Do for Love. Jackson McCormick is effortless in his delivery, and Guinness Chen's unassuming arrangement is stylistically perfect. If you know the song, you know exactly the part you're supposed to sing and the exact syllable to sing it on. I found it comforting and creative. And I even chuckled at the inherent irony of McCormick singing the Caldwell song.

On the flip, the liner notes are missing songwriter credits. That is unacceptable.

Unlucky. is not a flawless album, but it's a heartfelt one. Where it lacks the most is in risk-taking among the soloists and the edges of arrangements. While the album is solid, it rarely surprises (other than seeing the title Fallin' and it not being the Alicia Keys song, or having If I Ever Fall in Love on an album unironically). More adventurous arranging choices — unexpected reharmonizations, rhythmic experimentation — could elevate future projects. And even though the live recordings scored lower than the studio versions, that's more because of the soloists being pretty standard on the tracks and not anything the background is doing. But what The Mendicants do succeed at is in capturing vulnerability and sincerity, even if the execution sometimes falters. For longtime fans, it's a reminder of the group's charm; for newcomers, it's a decent entry point into their catalog.

The Mendicants offer some compelling music on Unlucky., though not for predictable reasons in a cappella land. Yeah, there are pining ballads; yeah, there are sweet uptempo jams. But along the way, someone in the group made the bold, pearl-clutching decision to sprinkle in three live tracks; not to close with a live track, not to group them in a trio at the end, but to sprinkle them in. And after you gasp, go queue them up because (further shocking news ahead), those are some of the more compelling tracks on Unlucky. If we still had a cappella forums and chat rooms, this release would certainly start a few conversations.

Unlucky Lady is a cheeky ditty that introduces us to the historic playfulness of the Mendicants, though the rest of the album doesn't return to this kind of humor. Hammer to the Heart showcases the fundamentals of solid singing and steady energy from the Mendicants.

And then things take a turn with two live tracks. In addition the very decision to include these, wilder still is the fact that they don't suffer in sonic quality too much, coming close enough to studio quality to not be jarring. Sure, there's microphone artifacts. No, you can't smooth over vowels into better shapes or perfectly refine the balance. But what the studio can't do is create real vulnerability, and the intimacy of getting to hear raw singing. Both the lead of It Will Rain, Leland Fong, and the background group let us sit right beside them. Fallin' also offers a closer experience than a studio product could, which makes the decision to include this pair pay off in spades. For quite a spell I wondered why the Mendicants didn't just release an entirely live album.

The studio work is pretty darn nice, too. You Are The Reason features a lead from Joe Fata that'll make the tears fall before you realize what's happening. If I Ever Fall in Love unfolds as a stark, percussion-less arrangement for the first third before dropping in a hot, smoldering beat and introducing more percussive elements in Fong's tight arrangement. What You Won't Do For Love is full and forward-moving. And then, resuscitation assistance is required for Jealous, a human condition emergency caused by lead Chehan Wijayaratne. The way Wijayaratne delivers "skin" early on will make you slide right off the couch — and from there, prepare for heart rhythm abnormalities. Somewhere between a baritone and bass, with talent valleys and fields past where most singers can glide, Wijayaratne is simply ethereal.

Buttoning up the album, This Side of Paradise shows a few more live-version flaws with its slippery tuning and balance, but honestly, it's still great. Lastly, All I Ask. The Mendicants utilize percussion drops effectively, though I wish there weren't "shooby dooby doo" phrases in this arrangement because it's not as creative as it could be.

Unlucky. is surprising, and overall pretty danged delightful.

The Stanford Mendicants are back with a new LP. That means another album of daring song choices that still manage to feel coherent in their style, impeccable soloists, and a soundscape full of baritone bravado. What elevates this album above all previous ones for me, however, is the cohesiveness and consistency in an unabashedly raw and proud album vision. Unlucky. is a slow burn — I liked it at first, and learned to love it several re-listens later.

Before praising what has changed with Unlucky., I'd like to recap praises of previous Medicants reviews that are still relevant. I'd noted on Horizon that while the sound of the group is very midrange baritone heavy, it stopped feeling as confined and restricted there as it did in previous albums. Now, instead of feeling like a limitation, it feels like a deliberate identity choice. I'd also been consistently impressed with the Mendicants' sense of musical identity. It's not easy to cover music by Bruno Mars, Calum Scott, Adele, and Bobby Caldwell on the same album and make it sound consistent and coherent (side note, however: I could've used better liner notes that credited the original songwriters instead of the performers). The arrangements do much of that heavy lifting — they employ a very consistent style of vocal embellishments, especially lyrical echoes, that create a consistent warmth and musical interest as well as a through line between musical styles.

With that in mind, the two opening tracks, Unlucky Lady and Hammer to the Heart, feel very "business as usual" for the Mendicants: strong starters with a lot of fun energy and strong solos. By themselves, they wouldn't indicate much has changed since the last album in terms of overall quality.

What comes next, however, is a subtle but important indicator of evolution on this album: the word "live".

Starting with It Will Rain, there are several live recordings interspersed on this project, indicating a more raw, slightly unfiltered sound with more vulnerable vocal delivery. This wasn't a significant detail on my first listen, but on second and third listen it became more important to me. Maybe it's because I appreciate the preservation of more live and authentic a cappella performances in the age where high production is the norm — also appreciated, mind you, but sometimes a return to basics is also welcomed. Maybe it's because these live tracks are, surprisingly, incredibly cohesive with the non-live ones, which is a huge production win. Maybe it's because both of those factors lead to an overall album vision that feels more raw and vulnerable. Maybe it's all of the above. The key victory here is that these live excerpts are not gimmicks or token inserts, but a major part of a big picture.

The side effect of this vision for the album is that it elevates individual choices that coincide with it. For example, If I Ever Fall in Love's background vocals could sound empty or limited on another album, but here, they sound like eloquent simplicity and in-line with purposefully stripped back styles of a cappella. Additionally, while the Mendicants' soloists remain excellent throughout, the heart-wrenching ballads with fully exposed lead vocals become extra special. Joe Fata on You Are the Reason and This Side of Paradise, as well as Chehan Wijayaratne on Jealous, really sell the critical album moments. Mack Smith's work on All I Ask also makes me a bit more forgiving to that track, which, while a fine album track, is not the strongest album closer.

Unlucky., therefore, may not be perfect, but it is without the more apparent blemishes that past Mendicants albums would include. The album is also something more important than perfect: it feels real and human.

Unlucky. is my favorite project by the Stanford Mendicants to date. Beyond targeting the low-hanging fruits that I suggested last time, the group has stepped up their game in embracing a complete and confident album vision from start to finish. And it's extra impressive when that is accomplished by a membership-rotating collegiate group. When I reviewed Horizon two years ago, I said, "The Mendicants are seemingly inches away from an Overall '5' score." Well, they finally nailed it for me.