Staking their claim for one of the most invigorating new bands around today. (Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires)

Member Name: getinmyson

Product:	Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
Date:	31/07/09 (6 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliantly crafted, near perfect pop songs aplenty.

Disadvantages: A late, small dive in quality.

Friendly Fires have become synonymous in the world of NME rated indie with energetic live shows, a spellbinding frontman and, most importantly, samba-tinged shoegaze dance music. The latter is displayed on this, their first album. Starting with the huge pop song that is Jump In The Pool, they immediately stake their claim for one of the most invigorating new bands around today. In The Hospital, with its catchier-than-swine-flu vocal riff, and Paris, their best known song with its mountain sized chorus, follow with no drop in quality. The fact that nearly every song on this album is endlessly catchy but equally diverse is a real achievement. The only weaker moments are the closers- Photobooth has Ed Macfarlane forgetting how to write a subtle and delightful lyric, and in its place spurts teenage-idiocies, and Ex Lover fails to deliver any vaugely memorable vocal line. That said, Friendly Fires come out of this late blip magnificently complete with a myriad of brilliant pop songs. Catch them live aswell, they can't be matched.

Summary: A great first album filled with energy and hooks.