Fickle Friends - Weird Years (Season 1) EP

Despite hitting the top ten with their debut ‘You Are Someone Else’ back in 2018, there’s still something of the underdog about Fickle Friends. After what they describe as a ‘tumultuous’ time over the last three years, the Brighton band are back with this, the first of a planned series of EP releases throughout 2021. With lockdown having put a big old blocker on releasing (and touring obvs) a second album for now, it’s still just pretty damn good to have them back.

Opener ‘What A Time’ lays the table for a band back in full creative control, a shout to the joy of escapism from everything out there right now as Natti Shiner cries “I don’t think about it when I’m getting high… I’m getting messed up to NERD”. We’ve all been there. With a big club vibe building and building towards a climax that’s just begging for live action next year, it’s a huge rush of a song. Better yet is ‘Million’, a bass-slapping funkbomb of a track that makes for a banger big enough for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And an after-pub drunk snack.

Just like life, it isn’t all parties and highs. The sweet ’92’ falls in love, ‘IRL’ worries about whether a relationship can last when it isn’t just happening on a screen, while the delicate ‘Finish Line’ casts a reassuring arm around those in need. Over just five tracks, it shows that you still underestimate Fickle Friends at your peril. Weird years? Sure. Still, what a time to be alive though.