Friendly Fires | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Formed by a trio of lifelong friends, Friendly Fires began combining the anthemic choruses and swooning melodies of indie rock and shoegaze with the insistent pulse of dance music in the mid-2000s. This mix of styles sounded prescient on 2008s Friendly Fires and 2011s Pala, while the bands later singles and albums reflected how enmeshed the worlds of indie and dance were as the 2010s came to a close. Hailing from St. Albans in Hertfordshire, England, vocalist/keyboardist Ed Macfarlane, guitarist Edd Gibson, and drummer Jack Savidge met at St. Albans School. While they were still in their early teens, they formed the post-hardcore band First Day Back, which lasted until the trio went to university. Macfarlane, Gibson, and Savidge then changed their sound to reflect their growing interest in dance music (during this time, Macfarlane also made electronic music that he released via Manchesters Skam Records). Taking inspiration from Prince, Carl Craig, and the output of Kompakt Records, the band became Friendly Fires. After winning a following for their live shows, they released the Photobooth EP through the independent label People in the Sky in late 2006. The initial limited-edition pressing soon sold out, and demand for the record prompted a re-press by the time their second EP, Cross the Line, appeared in mid-2007. Moshi Moshi Records picked up Friendly Fires for the single "Paris" b/w "Ex-Lover," which they released that October. Thanks to a stylish video directed by Price James and a number of enthusiastic reviews, "Paris" became a hit, and the band landed a slot opening for Interpol on their U.K. tour. XL Recordings, one of Englands biggest and most influential independent labels, signed the group to a recording contract; Friendly Fires arrived later that year, spawning the singles Skeleton Boy and Jump in the Pool. In 2009, a deluxe edition of the album that included previously unreleased material appeared. Friendly Fires was certified double gold in the U.K. shortly after it was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize that July. The following year, Friendly Fires issued a split single with Holy Ghost!, on which Friendly Fires covered Holy Ghost!s "Hold On" and Holy Ghost! reworked Friendly Fires "On Board." For 2011s second album, Pala, the group recruited co-producers Paul Epworth and Chris Zane, who helped bring a newfound size and polish to the bands sound. Following extensive touring in support of the album, Friendly Fires took a break. During the hiatus, Macfarlane appeared on the Disclosure track "Defeated No More," which appeared on their 2013 debut album, Settle. Macfarlane and Gibson also collaborated with the Advisory Circles Jon Brooks as the experimental electropop group the Pattern Forms and released their debut album, Peel Away the Ivy, in October 2016. Friendly Fires returned in 2018 with live dates and a pair of singles, the tropical pop-tinged "Love Like Waves" and the Disclosure-produced "Heaven Let Me In." The groups third full-length was scheduled for a 2019 release. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 6 Title: The Remix EP Released: 2007-10-09 Tracks: 3 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 On Board (Nightmoves mix) (?) 2 Photobooth (Mock & Toof mix) (?) 3 Bring Out Your Dead (Clark mix) (?) |
 | Album: 2 of 6 Title: Friendly Fires Released: 2008-09-01 Tracks: 11 Duration: 41:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Jump in the Pool (03:37) 2 In the Hospital (03:51) 3 Paris (03:55) 4 White Diamonds (04:12) 5 Strobe (03:05) 6 On Board (03:43) 7 Lovesick (03:54) 8 Skeleton Boy (03:33) 9 Photobooth (03:24) 10 Ex Lover (03:50) 11 Kiss of Life (04:09) |
| Friendly Fires : Allmusic album Review : On their self-titled debut, Friendly Fires serve up a very slick -- and very appealing -- mix of synth pop and dance-rock with unexpected nods to shoegaze that suggest their hard-edged, nu-rave sound might blur into something more interesting. The band crafts a big, hooky sound that loves melody, rhythms, and choruses equally, especially on "Jump in the Pool," which is just as fun and refreshing as its title suggests (the tropical-sounding drum breaks dont hurt), and "In the Hospital," a sleek track that sounds like the D.F.A. collaborating with Franz Ferdinand on an especially poppy day. For the rest of Friendly Fires, the band switches between these two approaches, and while they do a pretty good job of bringing the punk-funk, particularly on "Lovesick," this is very familiar territory that the band doesnt embellish much -- and "On Board" and "Photobooth" narrowly avoid coming off as parodies of that sound. Friendly Fires are more convincing, and more intriguing, when they give into their lush pop side. "Strobe"s aptly shimmering guitars, flickering keyboards, and almost ridiculously pretty melody nod to M83 and New Order, and the band saves the best for last with "Ex Lover," which pits steep, tone-bending guitars and sleepy vocals against brisk dance beats, suggesting what Chapterhouse might have sounded like if they were actually influenced by house. As it stands, Friendly Fires seem to be influenced by dream pop and whatever trend is big in dance music -- "Skeleton Boy"s bleepy keyboards borrow from the 8-bit craze -- but when the results are as immediate as this album is at its best, its hard to slam them too much for being derivative; better just to enjoy Friendly Fires as fleeting fun. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 6 Title: Bugged Out! Presents Suck My Deck Mixed by Friendly Fires Released: 2010-09-27 Tracks: 19 Duration: 1:13:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Freak-A-Holic (03:41) 2 Bearded Lady Motorcycle Show (04:00) 3 Youll Disappear (Munk remix) (04:22) 4 Lost in the Streets of NYC (Boris Werner Lost in Malta remix) (03:13) 5 Metro Bunker (original mix) (01:55) 6 Baby Cant Stop (Aeroplane remix) (04:11) 7 777 (Discodeine remix) (04:08) 8 Coma Cat (04:30) 9 La Musica (Azari & III remix) (04:07) 10 Stay Here (04:58) 11 Dog Day (02:33) 12 Be Strong (04:08) 13 No Worries (05:41) 14 Din Daa Daa (02:26) 15 Jack Your Big Booty (BHQ No Acid vocal) (02:31) 16 City & Industry (05:19) 17 Green Light (02:46) 18 Mortal Trance (03:06) 19 New Day (club vocal mix) (06:09) |
 | Album: 4 of 6 Title: Pala Released: 2011-05-16 Tracks: 11 Duration: 44:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Live Those Days Tonight (05:01) 2 Blue Cassette (03:31) 3 Running Away (03:02) 4 Hawaiian Air (04:12) 5 Hurting (05:02) 6 Pala (04:00) 7 Show Me Lights (03:35) 8 True Love (03:15) 9 Pull Me Back to Earth (03:30) 10 Chimes (04:37) 11 Helpless (04:24) |
| Pala : Allmusic album Review : At their best, Friendly Fires crystallize the escapist thrills of summertime, dancing, and parties into a fizzy synergy of indie, dance, post-punk, and dream pop. They do this even more effortlessly on their second album, Pala, recruiting producer Paul Epworth to help them couch their incredibly immediate pop hooks in intriguing sounds. These songs sound far bigger than Friendly Fires, and bolder too, with a more consolidated approach that shows how much more confident the band is here. Previously, it seemed like Friendly Fires were trying on as many styles as possible, but when “Blue Cassette” mixes filter disco softness with kinetic dance rock, it feels completely natural. Even bigger leaps forward arrive with “Hawaiian Air,” a one-way ticket to summer that sets breezy harmonies atop a lilting synth hook that somehow makes the drums sound even bouncier and more impatient to have fun, and on “Hurting,” which melds old-school soul and disco touches into a sexy departure for the band. These songs, along with “Show Me Lights,” grasp the heights that Friendly Fires debut only glimpsed. Though Palas songs are almost all climax, they have some subtlety too, like the way a clicking camera drives the beat on the languid title track, or the way “Pull Me Back to Earth” gradually transforms from ethereal dance rock to bubbling soul-pop midway through. Ever the hedonists, Friendly Fires can make a break-up song sound like a celebration, and they dont just fall in and out of love; they chase it (“Chimes”) or drown in its aftermath (“Helpless”). A headlong rush of an album, Pala is accomplished, bold, and very, very danceable; everything Friendly Fires debut promised and more. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 6 Title: iTunes Festival: London 2011 Released: 2011-07-29 Tracks: 6 Duration: 23:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Blue Cassette (03:27) 2 Hurting (05:06) 3 Show Me Lights (04:01) 4 Jump in the Pool (03:50) 5 True Love (03:10) 6 Hawaiian Air (04:20) |
 | Album: 6 of 6 Title: LateNightTales: Friendly Fires Released: 2012-11-05 Tracks: 20 Duration: 1:18:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Under the Sun (03:18) 2 Change Your Style (02:37) 3 Love Vibration (04:53) 4 Like an Eagle (04:06) 5 Carry on Turn Me On (03:52) 6 Attention Seeker (06:36) 7 Don’t Summarise My Summer Eyes (04:00) 8 The Black Arts (04:53) 9 Hold On (02:55) 10 Why Don’t You Answer (04:11) 11 One Most Memorable (01:14) 12 Embassy (03:59) 13 House Music Is a Controllable Desire You Can Own (03:59) 14 Invisible (02:46) 15 Endless Shore (03:31) 16 Cherry-Coloured Funk (03:15) 17 Shine (05:03) 18 Love Song (03:39) 19 Over There, It’s Raining (02:42) 20 Flat of Angles, Part 1 (06:24) |