Friendly Fires
It’s been seven long years since Friendly Fires last released material, and six since their last gig (bar Leeds last night) yet The Waterfront is packed out by the time they bounce on stage. Tonight is the second of two warm-up shows before Brixton Academy later this week, which will serve as the official comeback for the St Albans indie heroes.
The set is packed full of fan favourites, cuts from their eponymous 2008 debut and 2011’s ‘Pala’. It’s the classics everyone’s come for tonight. Jump In the Pool and Paris are highlights, both lightning-fast and sounding fresher than ever. It’s as though the band have been thawed from a cryogenic freezer – the songs sound crisp and current, the band are visibly energised and excited to be performing. Frontman Ed Macfarlane is a particular treat to watch; his vigorous dance moves are impeccable, and dressed to the nines in a floral shirt his presence mirrors that of the tropical-coloured lights flickering behind him.
The band air three new songs, which sound remarkably indifferent from their older material, but not out-dated at all. It strikes me that in the time the Fires have been away, indie has moved on – acts like Metronomy and Two Door Cinema Club have coerced that jittery 2008 sound to smoother, funkier new areas. Nobody sounds like Friendly Fires anymore and that’s why sticking to their original sound (somewhere between Wham!’s ‘Hotel Tropicana’ and ‘Firestarter’ by The Prodigy, if you can imagine) looks set to do them well on their forthcoming third LP.
It’s a spectacular return from one of British music’s forgotten greats of recent years. Welcome back, guys.
