Folly Group have found their sound with their just-announced debut album 'Down There!' Read our latest Dork Playlist cover feature now.

Words: Ciaran Picker.
Photos: Matt Ritson.

After 2022's 'Human and Kind' EP, Folly Group went quiet. Almost too quiet.

"We basically did about a month's worth of intense work, but only on Wednesday nights and weekends for about fifteen months," co-vocalist/drummer Sean admits with a tired grin. The product of this gruelling schedule, with each of the Folly Group boys having full-time jobs alongside the band, ultimately became their just-announced debut album, 'Down There!'.

Off the back of lead single 'Strange Neighbour' in August, they joined New York's Geese on tour around the UK. "Our bands sound quite different," states Sean, "but the intention is the same: we both take about seven ideas and turn them into one three-minute track."

Intention is key to what Folly Group create. Their first EP, 'Awake and Hungry', spoke to the DIY roots of this "classic lockdown band", being forced to "get good at being isolated" by cobbling songs together during the Covid-19 pandemic. For co-vocalist/guitarist Louis, "there was definitely the aim to get the album to sound a bit closer to [Awake and Hungry]", seeking to amalgamate the alchemy that went into their debut release with the more polished studio production of 'Human and Kind'.

"The way we recorded definitely fits a lot of the themes we're approaching. We were tired, it was dark, and we've managed to make one of the most paranoid things in the world," Sean giggles. Louis agrees: "Basically, we feel like we're under pressure all the time, living in a city in the dying days of this Tory government that's probably going to be taken over by the worst Labour government ever. There really is no hope, and we channelled that by sneaking around at 11pm to hit a chair with a stick."

Sean reckons that there are "probably five or six buildings where sounds were created that made their way into the album." Mostly, though, Folly Group had to be cloak and dagger about where most of their recording took place, sneaking around in the dark to find not only the perfect place but also the perfect vibe for what they were hoping to produce.

Sean describes 'Down There!' as a "fundamentally very honest album", with lead single 'Strange Neighbour' exploring the painful prospect of navigating London's rental market as a twenty-something, while new release 'Big Ground' pokes fun at the anxiety-induced desire to sink underground and stop existing. Sean's penchant for metaphor compliments Louis' emotional transparency to create an album perfectly balanced between mystery and humanity. Catharsis is a word over-used in music, but this album really does feel like a purging of negativity. Folly Group have not only exorcised some demons, but they've had fun while doing so.

This dichotomy between Folly Group's sense of humour and their sense of despair is mirrored in the difference between the writing styles of the band. The boys separate themselves from the saturated post-punk market by drawing on an eclectically diverse range of influences. Afro-Caribbean drumbeats combine with late-80s synth-pop, the dark electronica of 90s dance music, and more classically indie guitar riffs. Not only does this allow the four individual parts to bring their own specific ideas to proceedings, but it also means the collective can continue to divert expectations and subvert tradition.

Collaboration has always been at the heart of what Folly Group is. Louis remembers getting a text from the label once they had submitted their final tracklisting. "There were about six different possible orders, but when we gave in our final one, I got a message from the label just saying, 'I get it now'. It made me think, 'Oh, maybe this isn't a terrible album!"

All members being involved in the writing process ensures that nothing is overworked. "Once you accept that nothing is sacred, it makes it so much easier. You avoid block, so writing slows, but it never stops." Folly Group used their two EPs as a way to hone their skills but sometimes misfired when it came to finding and sticking with a sound throughout a project. In recording their debut album, it was crucial for them to create a landscape where all the songs could exist as siblings. "We're definitely more refined," Sean levels, "['Down There!'] flirts with various genres, sometimes within the same song, but I feel like it unifies all the different areas with one blanket mood and atmosphere." Bassist Tom nods, "They sound like they come from the same home."

The collective ownership that defines their writing process bleeds over into their live shows, too. The boys reveal that one song on the album, 'Bright Night', was re-recorded multiple times after playing it live. "You can feel when a bit isn't right, so it's like, 'Ok, why is this verse a bit dead? How can we fix it?'" This is where having four talented musicians in a band comes into its own. Tom sums it up perfectly: "It's like buying four lottery tickets for the price of one."

Their recent support slot for Geese has given them the chance to play new tracks at iconic British venues, such as Glasgow's King Tuts and London's Lafayette, perfect practice for their biggest show to date at Scala on 21st March. The venue holds a lot of sentiment for the band as Louis, in an accidental but sparkling bit of self-belief, shares that "Scala was always where the exciting bands did their second album tours, or where the good ones do their first one…"

By making a record within which the band hold so much pride, they have already achieved all they set out to. "We're way too anxious to tempt fate," Sean laughs, "we never assigned anything we've made 'work of art' status; all we know is that we've made something we believe in. That's the best we can ever hope for."

Tom's final remarks echo that sentiment, "if it connects with people in any way, then I'm happy… and we want to knock Taylor Swift off her perch!" In many ways, this is both band and album summed up in one phrase. The album is a story of real life told by people actually living it, encompassing all that isolation and alienation in today's Britain, but still being able to come together and find light in the darkness.■