Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires
Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires
By Chris Peken
If, as part of some bizarre social studies experiment, you force fed a poor lad from St Albans in Hertfordshire , England, on a steady diet of Depeche Mode, New Order, Ultravox, ABC and Human League he would without doubt grow up to sound like Friendly Fires’ Ed MacFarlane (minus the naff haircuts and considerable wardrobe faux pas of the eighties). Taking the pulse of disco, the keyboards of the eighties and a touch of new millennium indie cred, Friendly Fires launch their eponymous debut. The previously released single Paris positively throbs 1988, with a touch of Duran Duran thrown into the mix, while the current single Jump Into The Pool mixes heavy atmospherics ambiance with pacey of pop beat and choppy guitars. While Friendly Fires know how to make plenty of variations on a theme, and they do it with great panache, there is not much respite from this re-worked eighties mash; making Friendly Fires something you will either love or hate.
*** 1/2
