Friendly Fires have been playing hacky sack with my wig since 2011, when they released their good-as-hell album Pala. Then they buggered off for 8 years. Thankfully Pala was so good and still remains so good that it more than sustained me and kept my wig suspended far from my scalp. But it meant great expectations would be abound for what would follow. Expectations which grew with each year that we got nothing.
In-between Pala and Inflorescent, Friendly Fires seemed to do a bit of soul and sound searching. Even though they had nailed a sound on their last album, which was a definite evolution and step change from the one that came before, they seemed to want to REALLY switch gears completely; during a period to what I can only coin as Friendly Fires re-assessing their sound. We got side projects, curated compilations and talks of jam sessions and sounds which seemed to signal that the Pala follow up would sound absolutely nothing like Pala or what we knew of Friendly Fires. Not even a little bit. So when "Love Like Waves" came out, I was dosh-garn surprised, because it was nothing of the experimental, weed head vibe-ass sounding songs I was led to believe we may get. It was Friendly Fires as fuck and sounded like a hop, skip and a jump from Pala.
Friendly Fires lost their way somewhat, which band front-man Ed McFarlane put down to personal anxiety and not being in the best place mentally. So the return back to a sound that was familiar to him and fans was cathartic. Ed found way back to himself and Friendly Fires found their way back to us all.
This sums up Inflorescent in a way. Business as usual. No deviations. A distillation of what we knew. Far sleeker than anything we've heard from the boys prior, with not a rough edge to be seen across the entire album. Ed's wrestling of demons is nowhere to be found in any of the music. The closest we get is the album opener "Can't Wait Forever", which is about putting off what you ultimately know will come to pass no-matter-the-fuck-what. Part of me wonders what a Friendly Fires album would sound like from a band whose front-man is in the thick of trying to piece himself back together. My curiosity piques every time I listen to this album because it honestly feels like a continuation of a story that was scratched from history.
Where-as songwriter and producer Paul Epworth (Adele's "Hello") was entrusted with the task of locking down the Friendly Fires sound on Pala, Mark Ralph was given the task of helping the lads distil it. Paul Epworth's sound is rich and textured, but has a rawness to it which provides a tangibility to the songs. Paul has a knack for crafting perfect sounding songs which somehow manage to sound a little imperfect and raw in places, but still complete and beautiful. Mark Ralph's production style in comparison is far sleeker and glossier. The result is a collection of songs which feel far more like Pop productions than any of the fraught songs that Friendly Fires had brought us prior. Every song on Pala had an sense of something fleeting. There was no sense of permanence, which makes sense given the getaway theme of the album. This energy isn't present in Inflorescent. There is a calmness and a grounding with this album. In retrospect is mirrors what has since been disclosed what the band went through. After Pala there was uncertainty about wanting to do this music thing forever. With Inflorescent, there was a realisation that they want to keep doing it.
This difference in energy which runs through Inflorescent in comparison to Pala isn't to say that bad. Its just something that took a while for me to come to terms with. When I listened to Inflorescent, I knew I liked it from the offset. But I couldn't put my finger on what Pala had that this album didn't. And it's an edge and a sense of temporality.
Given how Friendly Fires' sound has evolved from album to album, it's no surprise Inflorescent is what is is. It'd be weirder if it wasn't. Inflorescent embraces its lack of edge, and its beauty lies in how much it does, because the sound of this album and the finessing of the production is a reflection of the state of the band and where Ed appears to be in his life. They know who they are. They're in love with what they do again. They're more refined as individuals, collectively as friends and as a band. Ed has found some semblance of peace and Friendly Fires are enjoying being able to actually enjoy what they do. And you can hear that in the music. In this sense, Inflorescent isn't all that different to Pala at all, because it's a snapshot and a representation of the band at a point in time, which is what makes it true.
Inflorescent is a gorgeously produced album. There's a sense of clarity with each song and a laser focus in terms of what Friendly Fires and Mark Ralph wanted the vibe of each song and the album as a whole to be. The only thing I can really criticise this album for, is that it may be a little too safe in comparison to the angst of their debut or the skittish vibes of Pala. Inflorescent's best moments are when it builds substantially on what Pala did or pulls away from it completely. "Can't Wait Forever", "Heaven Let Me In" and "Silhouette" are great songs. But we've kinda heard them from Friendly Fires in some form or other before. But "Offline", "Sleeptalking" and "Almost Midnight" are sheer brilliance, because they push Friendly Fires' sound in a new direction whilst still retaining the essence of what makes a Friendly Fires song a Friendly Fires song. "Offline" has a seductive groove which will have your hips moving in a fashion that'll give Ed's a run for their money. "Sleeptalking" has rhythm which feels reminiscent of 90s House, but with strong R&B overtones. It somehow manages to be smooth and dreamlike, yet have a high BPM and slap, with Ed McFarlane's sounding like he's just floating through the song. "Almost Midnight" is like a cross between "Sleepwalking" and Pala's "Chimes". Once again, the music perfectly matches the theme of the song. The lyrics are about trying to shoot your shot at somebody in a club, but being conscious that time is against you and that both you and the object of your desire will be leaving the club soon. I don't know what club closes at midnight. Bitch, that's when I'm hitting the club. But the music manages to juggle the urgency of the situation, the sexiness of a potential courtship, and that sense of everything around you quietening down and moving in slow motion as you focus on that one person you wanna be with.
Every song on Inflorescent paints such a vivid and hyper specific picture, that I almost wish that Friendly Fires shot a video for each song.
Some of y'all artists really be thinking track order doesn't matter. And bitch, it really does. Thankfully Friendly Fires get the importance of it. The sequencing of this album is spot on. So much so to the point that I enjoy listening to the whole album from top to bottom. Even if I want to listen to one song, I'm like 'Fuck it, lemme run the album from the top' because hearing that song placed in the album makes it better. The sequencing of "Silhouettes", "Offline" and "Sleepwalking" is so God like, that it feels blasphemous to even listen to one of these songs on their own. I have to play the trifecta. The ONLY pothole in this album where sequencing is concerned is with how it ends. "Run the Wild Flowers" is a great song. It's to Inflorescent what "Chimes" was to Pala. But it shouldn't have closed the album, because it doesn't feel resolute enough or as much of an encore as Pala's "Pull Me Back to Earth". Both songs evoke the same feeling of not fully concluding at all; but "Pull Me Back to Earth" still felt like an ending, even if it was one which was irresolute. The horns toward the end of the song made it feel like a fanfare. A homecoming. The lyrics were about finally realising the place you left is where you want to be, and calling to return back. You could literally envision the credits rolling in the last 30 seconds of the song. It was a perfect ending to an album that felt like a excursion. "Run the Wild Flowers" in comparison just doesn't feel as well rounded as an album closer. If there was more of a build in the song and this sense of it leading to something, or if it had a grander outro, it could of worked. But as it is, it kinda comes and goes, and you're left like 'Oh. Is that it?' and expecting one more song.
It may seem like every good thing I say about this album is flanked by some negative. But I like Inflorescent a lot. It's a really fucking good album. But I loved Pala on a first listen, where-as I didn't with Inflorescent. But this is more due to my attachment to Pala than it is a shortcoming of Inflorescent itself. This is a great follow up to what was an amazing album, and it's one that I like more with each listen. Each song is succinct, well produced and has a great hook. There is not a terrible song on this thing. The only song that doesn't do much for me is "Kiss and Rewind", but even this isn't a terrible song and I never skip it. It's just the least interesting sounding song on an album of really good songs.
After what was an amazing album and 8 years, my expectations were pretty damn high. And Friendly Fires delivered. Whether you're a die-hard fan of the album or just a fan of good Indie leaning Pop music, you'll find much to like here.
Album highlights:
■ Can't Wait Forever 🔥
■ Silhouettes 🔥
■ Offline 🔥
■ Sleeptalking 🏆
■ Love Like Waves 🔥
■ Cry Wolf
■ Almost Midnight 🔥
■ Run the Wild Flowers
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