Released:
Rating:
‘You Are Someone Else’ lets off party poppers in life’s most confusing and heartbreaking moments.
Label: Polydor
Released: 16th March 2018
Rating: ★★★★★
Fickle Friends feel like childhood friends. Ever since they dropped ‘Swim’ into the world all those years ago, they’ve dazzled and shone brighter than most – combining unabashed freedom with doe-eyed innocence that has had us following their every move. Busting themselves across the globe, all while dropping heavyweight cuts at every opportunity, one question has remained. The album. Now, with ‘You Are Someone Else’, Fickle Friends have the fireworks needed to put on one hell of a display, and let’s just say it may be one of the spectacles of the year. Building on years of promise and an unstoppable gleam of pop goodness, it’s exactly what you need for a neon-soaked walk through young adulthood and the turning points it lays out.
A record that feels like a true body of work from start to finish, ‘You Are Someone Else’ revels in letting off party poppers in life’s most confusing and heartbreaking moments. The sheer size of cuts like ‘Hello Hello’, ‘Swim’, ‘Say No More’, ‘Wake Me Up’, ‘Hello Hello’ and ‘Brooklyn’ are jaw-dropping, delivering the sort of big-time pop licks that come from years spent on the world, honing their live craft before spearing it straight into the anthems they’re blaring. Fizzing with electro-pop majesty, tracks feel tight and perfectly crafted, smashing anyone doubting them out of the way and going even bigger 30 seconds later. Calling upon lost love, first loves, friendship and simply not knowing what the future holds, the vulnerability under the glossy hooks shine brightest on ‘Heartbroken’ and the chilling ‘In My Head’, whilst ‘Bite’, ‘Rotation’ and ‘Midnight’ show off their electro-leading sense of adventure, fusing those lush singalongs with throbbing bass and cutting lines to splendid effect. This isn’t just a debut album from a band who know how to nail things when brightest, but nail things in the sheer variety and scope of their opening statement to the world.
Fickle Friends have always dared for more. It’s why ‘You Are Someone Else’ is such a barn-storming success, a work of youthful dreaming from a band in prime position to become a generation’s most beloved soundtrack. Sugary sweet, it’s a force that practically signs Fickle Friends as gatekeepers for where indie-pop goes next, and in their hands – it’s going to be mesmerising. Jamie Muir
