Album Review: Inflorescent by Friendly Fires

On their 2008 self-titled debut and 2011's Pala, Friendly Fires crafted a prescient sound that blended dance-punk, dream pop, and flirtations with more straightforward dance music -- and then they disappeared for eight years. While they were gone, the gaps between indie, dance, and pop that they bridged continued to shrink; listening to Inflorescent, it's clear that Friendly Fires have managed to keep up with the times and remain true to what made them stand out in the first place. It's more than a little ironic that they begin their first album in nearly a decade with a song called "Can't Wait Forever," but it immediately plunges listeners into their dance floor euphoria -- a skill they've used expertly since 2008's "Jump in the Pool.

Full Review >>

Friendly Fires debuted in 2008, in the long shadow of Bloc Party's Silent Alarm and the shorter shade of the "Gossip Girl" soundtrack. They went on hiatus just three years later, exiting at precisely the moment when the band's hazy blend of disco and effervescent funk was primed for a mainstream takeover (Walk the Moon, Mike Posner). They've spent the years since 2011's Pala collaborating with a litany of pop producers who lean into the band's more electronic tendencies--Disclosure, FaltyDL, Dusky.

Full Review >>

There was a time when Friendly Fires were one of the biggest bands around. You couldn't walk a yard without hearing the opening ghostly harmonies of 'Jump In The Pool' or see someone at a festival decked out in a Hawaiian shirt doing their best Ed Macfarlane impression. We were treated to two albums of sonically colourful party bops. Then the music stopped.

Full Review >>

Who wrote the rule that pop acts should release albums every year or two? Whoever it is did not tell Friendly Fires, who have undergone a Stone Roses-style break from the long playing format, returning eight years on with their third album Inflorescent. Much has changed for the band in that time, as it no doubt has for their fans and listeners. Yet anyone hearing their new music will instantly relate it to the old, recognising many things that have stayed constant.

Full Review >>

W hen Friendly Fires released their debut album in 2008, the St Albans trio's busy, brooding brand of electro-punk seemed precision-engineered for a music scene craving respite from the scratchy guitars and pointy brogues of landfill indie. By the time the band's second, Pala, came out three years later, they were on the precipice of proper mainstream success; their dancefloor-friendly synthpop merged intricate, pulsing percussion with big, yearning choruses. Now, however, as the band return to a fractured pop landscape after a momentum-quashing eight-year break, their relationship to the zeitgeist is far less clear.

Full Review >>