Friends are about to release their debut album, Manifest, and it’s one of the most stylish releases in a while. Slicing their way out of Brooklyn, they’re the latest in a wave of great girl fronted groups and Manifest is a slick shot that brightens up the music industry with its smarts.
Manifest opens up with the sparse percussion of Friend Crush, which turns into a track that brings together elements of Bowie and The Kills without losing the feeling of being something new. Lead vocals from Samantha Urbani are tight and fresh with a brilliant slimline bass-line and an echoing high note guitar riff with an Eastern shawl.
Sorry is another low lying stunner with South American beats and a hushed church organ rhythm. The tribal chants continue the world music ethos of the start of the album and Urbani’s vocals pierce with hushed tones.
Home funks up the bass and bongos, but the lyrics and vocals make them somehow sound smart. Things go a bit too Madonna on A Thing Like This with bongos, calypso guitar and slightly annoying pipes that aren’t quite so well compensated by the voice.
A Light is class though, sounded like the female equivalent of Skying. Tambourine and surf guitar riffs cue up and fill out Ideas on Ghosts, and the hauntingly high singing backs up the darker matter of the tracks lyrics.
Ruins continues with blackened tones sounding smart and poetic. While I’m His Girl is slightly tainted by compromised romantic ramblings, it’s the kind of track that grows on you because of its catchy structure and innate musical cool.
Proud/Ashamed brings back the fresh style of the earlier tracks on the the album with a slow flame. The drums are amazing and Urbani’s reverb soaked voice tows it all through effortlessly. Stay Dreaming continues with a heart of class, drawing out the beginnings of a great end to an album.
Va Fan Gor Du won’t be appreciated by all, but it definitely mixes things up before the finale. It’s a bit hip hop and rap with funk bass and some roughed up b a n a n a s.
It all gets a bit nuts on closing track Mind Control and Manifest is all the better for it. From the bat faced little girl synth to the crazed high pitch chorus, it fits its title to perfection, capping off a great new album, and pitching Friends with a distinctly un-pigeonholeable musical output. It’s the kind of album that makes you glad you love good music and get to write about it.
Friends, Manifest album review: 4/5
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