Navigating the choppy waters of the music industry with a compass of camaraderie: Make Friends' journey from campus to working with modern indie royalty is a testament to the power of genuine connection in a digital age. Check out our latest Hype playlist cover feature.

Words: Stephen Ackroyd.
Photos: Jennifer McCord.

Maybe most of our mates end up feeling, in some form or another, quite digital these days, but one Bristol band is determined to make them musical. Make Friends, a quartet of indie-pop alchemists, are busy transforming the everyday into auditory gold, one catchy chorus at a time. There's a certain magic that happens when four pals decide to make music together. In the case of Make Friends, that magic has been brewing since their university days, resulting in a potent blend of indie-pop that's catching ears across the UK. As they prepare to release their new EP 'Loaded Fun', this quartet is proving that in the world of indie music, good old-fashioned human connection might just be the secret ingredient to success.

The band's guitarist, Connor Crabb, fresh from his morning caffeine ritual, is eager to share the Make Friends story. "I've just polished off the two-cup cafetière all to myself, and now I'm about to sit in the shy sun and tell you all about Make Friends," he says. Basically the perfect day, right?

Make Friends are a four-piece outfit, each member bringing their unique flavour to the mix. Connor breaks it down for us: "So there's Tom, very much the Sting of our group, as he's the lead vocalist and plays bass, and I'm still not quite sure how he does both simultaneously. Max is our beat-keeper, who always smashes it on the drums - in every sense. Then you have David and myself, both on guitar - partners in chime, I like to say. Between Dave and Tom, they tend to write a lot of the core parts of tracks, and I'd like to think me and Max come in clutch with the parts we add after, providing that crucial cherry-on-top."

This dynamic interplay between the band members is evident in their music, a blend of buoyant and left-field that draws comparisons to the likes of Bombay Bicycle Club, Phoenix, and MGMT. It's a sound that's been honed since their days as students in Bath, before they made the short but significant jump to Bristol.