Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires

Artist: Friendly Fires
Album: Friendly Fires
Genre: Indie Electronic
Rating: 3.5 of 5


The debut self-titled album from the Friendly Fires shows a great deal of potential. This is not the band's first venture into the studio but it is their first full-length album. They have released three EPs prior to this.

In an effort to describe the band through comparison I would have to say that they are somewhere between MGMT and Bloc Party. In general, the have the same dance, punk and funk mix that MGMT have been working on. A few of their best songs like "In The Hospital" and "Paris" have the slow dance beat that makes MGMT so attractive. Where as songs such as "Jump In The Pool" have some of the effects and vocal harmonies that are the backbone to Bloc Party's repertoire. And then there songs like "On Board" that have a great groove and show some of the bands own strengths.

With all these great styles melding together it would be hard to see any cons but there was something holding me back from rating this album any higher. Unfortunately besides the songs I mentioned in the previous paragraph there wasn't really anything exciting. This may be a case of the band being pushed from writing EPs to writing a full length album.

Friendly Fires come out blazing with a few really good tunes. Hopefully their next album has a more consistent track listing.