Anyone know knows me well enough will know not to cross me when the topic of Friendly Fires comes up. When they arrived onto the scene in 2008, I followed these boys the leadth and breadth of Blighty. It's not because I was obsessed, it was because they know how to put on a live show. Bring up YouTube on your browser and you'll see what I mean (when you have half-naked samba dancers, it's always going to be a winner).
Where would bands from suburbia be without the "commuter-belt boredom" that Friendly Fires say inspire the pop and rave compound that complements their new single? The trio bolted foward to mainsteam success three years ago when their self-titled debut album went big in America and Japan, setting the blue torch paper for a rocketed scope through the various leagues of the world of music. The surprise that they bring is their refinement; they are cool and wise enough to know how to keep the dancefloor heaving.
The first single from their forthcoming album 'Pala' combines all of those elements. In Live Those Days Tonight, their enslaving samba beat that sends a neuron, bypassing your brain, straight to your lower body to groove; adding a synthy and louder sound, they pick up where they left on put in epic-sized proportions. Methodically, it would take only the Blumenthals and the Ramsays of the music world to get to grips with. While it's complex, it's not sensory overload. It gets your attention without leaving you in a state of headrush.
They cast memories of a summer for a meaningful moments and monumental music. They forbode elements of fun and frolics. Ed MacFarlane blares "I won't feel the sun's too hot, I can't touch your precious past; I live those days tonight". They allow you to relive those moments as if they were the now. I cannot stop talking about what this song means. Imagine this at the summer festivals. Wow.
The tropicality of the drums make you want to put on your shades and imagine you are in the Sambadrome. No wonder why the sun has finally took his hat off; Friendly Fires are back.