On March 16th 2018, Fickle Friends released their debut album – ‘You are someone else’. The band (originally from Brighton) formed in 2013 and gained notoriety after winning a competition to play at The Big Feastival (Jamie Oliver’s wonderfully posh food and music festival) indicating that this band had a bright future. Five years on and Fickle Friends have finally released their debut album and five years has given them plenty of time to perfect their unique indie, pop and funk style.
The record is a fairly lengthy sixteen songs, however each song is quite different meaning that the album doesn’t drag on, nor does it get boring after several listens. On top of this, Fickle Friends seem to have encapsulated all that was good about 80s synth pop for their LP and this is only bettered by the fact that they’ve placed a modern spin on it, meaning that the music could most be likened to that of The 1975 or Pale Waves, but there are also hints of The Wombats and Viola Beach sprinkled in there. Some of the songs even have a slightly Whitney Houston feel to them and as everyone knows, you can never go wrong with Whitney Houston.
The first song on the album (Wake me up) sets the tone for the whole record, fun, dancey and energetic. Whirly synth sounds lead you into a trance like state, driving drum beats mean you can’t help but bop your head whilst gorgeous guitar licks make you want to tap your feet in time throughout the whole album and – not only are the songs ridiculously catchy – but they are also littered with creative and meaningful lyrics which depict stories of failed relationships, love and other endeavours which you can only assume are personal to the band.
Often you find with an album that they only fit a single situation, however this album is something a bit special and has done something not many bands have been able to accomplish with a record, because quite simply it could fit into any number of situations! I’ve found myself playing this at parties, on car journeys and it wouldn’t at all seem out of place on a beach party or night out playlist. My personal highlights from the album include ‘Wake Me Up’, ‘Hard To Be Myself’ and arguably the most popular record they released, ‘Glue’.
I’d also like to point out the obvious in that lead vocalist (Natassja Shiner) is a female. Under normal circumstances, this would seem like a rather odd thing to highlight, however I think it’s brilliant to see Fickle Friends fast become a break out band in what is a very male dominated industry. Not only is this brilliant for the music industry as a whole, but I think it’s especially brilliant for the indie genre which doesn’t have an extensive range of bands with a female lead vocalist and who’s main breakout bands in that respect are Haim and Wolf Alice.
To sum up the album as a whole, I’d have to say fun but respectable and I mean that in the sense of the music is extremely fun because it makes you want to dance the whole way through, however you can tell that Fickle Friends have put a lot of time and hard work into this record and it has really payed off. It’s very difficult to create a catchy, entertaining record and still have meaningful lyrics and keep exceptional musicianship throughout, however they have done this brilliantly and all I can say is that I really hope this is a breakout year for Fickle Friends and ‘You are someone else’.
Written by Noah Hindle
Northern Radar 