Friday Club
Friday Club
October 31 2013 (self-release)
8.5/10
Words: Dave Beech
Birmingham three-piece Friday Club have come a huge way since they were first brought to my attention earlier in the year. With a seeming inability to create anything but positive vibes, they have already conquered the B-Town scene with an almost raucous disregard for convention that sets them apart from many of their city's other successes. Now, with a new self-titled EP under their belt, the band look set to build on their already solid foundations in a brilliant way.
Beginning with 'Cut Me Up', it's immediately clear that the band have undergone a maturing process over the last six months or so. Darker than other tracks, it features driving distortion and a much moodier aesthetic than previously expected. However, that's soon offset by the jangly 'All I Wanna Do Is Fuck' and the previously released 'Fall Down Kids', which in turn exhibits a suitably snotty side to the band that perfectly matches their rebellious streak. Sounding somewhat akin to a British version of Ramones (sans heroin), it's this punk edge that makes them so different from their indie-pop contemporaries and make Friday Club one of the more exciting bands to come out of Brum.
'Tropical' builds on the band's punk aspects too, though starts innocuously enough; a sly dig to the B-Town sound, it's a send up of the pseudo tropicana purported by band's such as Swim Deep and Wide Eyed. It also serves to work up to an expectant and angry ending to the record which is cheekily offset by one of the band's more melodic, anthemic tracks in the form of 'Tame Me'.
There's a certain charismatic bite about Friday Club that make them impossible not to pay attention to. They're not afraid to air their grievances, and they do so with a charming snarl that makes their softer aspects all the sweeter. Refusing to be tied down by the stereotypical constraints of a burgeoning home-town scene, Friday Club are a band who are almost-definitely going places.
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