popwreckoning

I have a love/hate relationship with BBC Radio1 evening show host Zane Lowe. He often gets on my nerves because he likes to shout. A lot. I chalk this up to the fact that he has the privilege of talking to rock stars on a regular basis, and should I ever get a cushy job like that, I would probably be overexcited and shouty as well. However, I digress. It’s thanks to Lowe’s regular choosing of the “Hottest Record in the World” (at 7:30 PM GMT most evenings Monday through Thursday) that I get to hear some of the most hotly-tipped songs before their official release. And here is a prime example of his good taste – PopWreckoning favorites Friendly Fires covering Holy Ghost!‘s now classic “Hold On,” which was chosen as a “Hottest Record” for February 4.

I’ve done research in the blogosphere and heard quite a bit about the backstory of this single from interviews the BBC did last month with Friendly Fires‘s Ed Macfarlane (vocals / bass / synths). What I’ve gathered is that the two acts ran into each other last summer at the dance music festival Calvi on the Rocks in Corsica. It’s unclear which parties were inebriated but Holy Ghost!‘s Alex Frankel made the suggestion of recording covers of each other’s songs. Macfarlane, a self-admitted fanatic of Holy Ghost!‘s work, concurred. Further, Macfarlane told a BBC 6music news reporter that he spent so much time and effort remixing Phoenix‘s “Fences” that given the choice, his preference with respect to Holy Ghost! was to do “a proper reinterpretation” of one of their songs rather than simply a remix.

You may wonder, “if they talked about doing this last summer, why is it taking so long for it to be released?” Further in the folklore is that Friendly Fires, so enthused about the project, got their cover finished quickly. However, Holy Ghost!‘s recording of their track was riddled by bad luck. Word on the street is that their already recorded session tapes and vocal tracks vanished, and they suffered a hard drive meltdown. It should also be noted that there was further delay caused by the untimely death of !!!/LCD Soundsystem drummer Jerry Fuchs. (Incidentally, the “On Board” track is one of the last recordings Fuchs played on.)

If you’ve listened to Friendly Fires‘s “Paris” as many times as I have, the intro to their cover of Holy Ghost!’s “Hold on” should sound welcome as an old friend. The pronounced bass line, as well as winning cowbell and agogô – hallmarks of tracks by this XL Recordings act – make this cover memorably different than the original. The disco dancefloor vibe and the short-sounding lyrics have gone, replaced by in-your-face percussion (thanks to surely one of music’s hardest-working drummers, Jack Savidge) and sexy as hell lead vocals. Edd Gibson‘s guitar riffs three-quarters of the way in are also a totally appreciated addition.

DFA Records duo Holy Ghost! decided they wanted to put their own stamp on the Friendly Fires‘s boisterous singalong “On Board.” (You may recall hearing the original on commercials for the Wii Fit and Gran Turismo 5.) Their take features, as should be expected from them, a disco sensibility; however, it also comes complete with angelic female voices credited as “the DFA Celestial Choir,” lending a vocal richness not present in the original. The lead vocal is more intelligible as well. (Sorry Ed Mac, but if someone hadn’t told me the lyrics included “without your own defiling / you’d backwards circle right above our heads“, I never would have guessed). I also really dig the tacking-on of the catchy, repeated “Don’t stop! Don’t stop!” squarely in the middle of the track.

Because of the mutual admiration Friendly Fires and Holy Ghost! have for each other, I think it’s safe to say that should these two dance music acts ever decide to go on tour together, that would make for one hell of a bill.

The “Hold On” / “On Board” double-A-sided single will be released on 12″ vinyl and digitally on March 8 by XL Recordings. Check out the original versions of both below (Holy Ghost! don’t have a promo video for “Hold On” so only audio is available for that one.)

Friendly Fires - “On Board”

Holy Ghost! - “Hold On”

Track Listing
1. Friendly Fires – Hold On
2. Friendly Fires – Hold On (instrumental)
3. Holy Ghost! – On Board
4. Holy Ghost! – On Board (instrumental)
5. Holy Ghost! – On Board (dub – on download version only)

Friendly Fires: website | myspace | Friendly Fires review | Remix Monday: “Skeleton Boy” | @ Black Cat | @ Dot to Dot Festival | interview with pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3 | Mercury Prize Nominations Announced | New Video on MTV, To Play Jimmy Kimmel and Winter Nylon Tour, Release Expanded Version of Debut Album | @ Lollapalooza 2009 | @ le poisson rouge | @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | on Jimmy Kimmel | Remix Monday: “Paris” | Remix Monday: Phoenix’s “Fences” | NYLON Winter Music Tour Starring Friendly Fires with the xx @ Paradise Rock Club, Boston
Holy Ghost!: website | myspace | Remix Monday: Cut Copy “Hearts on Fire” | Remix Monday: Phoenix “Lisztomania”

The inaugural Winter Nylon Music Tour stopped by Boston’s Paradise Friday night for an absolutely, positively sold-out show. If it is humanly possible, both the headliners Friendly Fires and the opener, current darlings of the blogosphere the xx, keep getting better and better with each additional time I have the privilege of seeing them perform. Both are young bands from England, yet with all the globetrotting they’ve done this year, they’ve honed their skills so that every performance will leave you wanting more. When I heard and subsequently groaned inwardly that the Nylon tour would not be stopping by Washington, I decided a trip up north was in order.

In the case of London’s the xx, their sound is relatively simplistic, but they are extremely successful in bringing out the emotions of anyone who’s ever felt anything for someone else or perhaps more accurately, the xx make you feel you aren’t alone when you’ve lost that magical thing called love. I still can’t get over how guitarist Romy Madley-Croft and bassist Oliver Sim‘s voices, though gentle, can be so poignant and achingly beautiful, causing you the listener to feel the same yearning that exists in the heart of their songs in your bones.

This was the first time the band had ever played in Boston (not counting the in-store they played three hours earlier at Newbury Comics), and the excited crowd was certainly appreciative of their visit. They took to the stage on time at 9. The extended live version of “Basic Space,” their second single released on Young Turks in the UK in August, confused some members of the audience, some of them prematurely clapping while the band headed into an outro not on the album. “Fantasy,” starting off with Sim’s spare, scorching vocals paired with Madley-Croft’s fantastic guitar playing, was a major highlight, as was “Nighttime,” with such monstrous beats from Jamie Smith that you felt the backbeats pounding through your body.

“Infinity,” an example of serious yearning turned into an xx song, starts with guitar work that is as sensual at those in Chris Isaak‘s “Wicked Game.” But what the xx’s tune has over Isaak’s are the call and response lyrics of “I can’t give it up / to someone else’s touch / because I care too much” between Madley-Croft and Sim, punctuated by Smith’s drum machine and cymbal crashing. Talk about dramatic to the max and perfectly suited for their usual black attire and minimalist stage set-up. Be sure to catch this trio when they tour America starting in March 2010, first on a short tour of their own on the eastern half of the U.S., followed by a couple of dates opening for Hot Chip.

The xx Set List:
Intro
VCR
Basic Space
Fantasy
Shelter
Islands
Nighttime
Infinity

Like clockwork, crew set up quickly for the main event, St. Albans’ own Friendly Fires, so that they were ready to roll punctually at the Paradise-appointed time of 10:15. This band’s shows are 100 times better than their records because you get the full audio and visual experience right in front of you. On this particular night, multi-colored lights flashed feverishly across the stage, lending a carnival-like atmosphere quite appropriate for this kind of music. On stage left is drummer Jack Savidge on his riser, beating on his drums at a furious pace that it’s a wonder he ever manages to leave a gig with his hands intact. In the center of it all is lead singer Ed Macfarlane with his bevy of synthesizers ever at the ready, in front of touring bassist Rob Lee and their touring brass section (trumpeter and saxophonist). And lastly and certainly not least, on stage right is guitarist Edd Gibson shredding it on his axe in a way that should inspire generations to pick up a guitar and try it for themselves.

Having not seen them in about four months, I’d nearly forgotten just how tremendously punishing physically their set is on all the players. This was their second to last date on a grueling 3-week tour of North America, and I’d heard that everyone by this point was exhausted (and understandably so). However, I didn’t see any indication that the band wasn’t giving their usual 110%. When it came time for Macfarlane to break out his now world-famous dance moves, the man showed no sign of fatigue, most memorably on the wonky-waltzy “White Diamonds,” to which he threw his whole body into the song. “Photobooth,” an ode to young lovers taking an innocent photograph together, was preceded by him saying, “Are you going to join us [in the revelry and dance]?” Thanks to a long guitar cord, throughout the set Gibson was able to run back and forth across the Paradise stage, climbing on top of a speaker in front of Savidge several times to serenade those up in the balcony. So very rock ‘n’ roll.

While the throng was vocal in their appreciation for the Fires’ music, some people in the crowd clearly needed to loosen up, so much that Ed Mac had to implore, “Come on Boston, dance with me, please!” When they played “On Board,” then “Paris” (the obvious crowd-pleaser), the audience was finally moving and grooving in a way that the band approved. While it was disappointing that they played the exact same set list that I’ve gotten used to and we didn’t get a preview of the four songs Friendly Fires have already finished for album #2, we’ll have the new material and a brand-new set list to look forward to the next time they visit us stateside. The band’s sophomore album is expected to be released in May 2010. I can’t wait.

Friendly Fires Set List:
Lovesick
Jump in the Pool
Skeleton Boy
In the Hospital
White Diamonds
Strobe
Kiss of Life
Photobooth
On Board
Paris
//
Ex Lover

Friendly Fires: website | myspace | Friendly Fires review | Remix Monday: “Skeleton Boy” | @ Black Cat | @ Dot to Dot Festival | interview with pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3 | Mercury Prize Nominations Announced | New Video on MTV, To Play Jimmy Kimmel and Winter Nylon Tour, Release Expanded Version of Debut Album | @ Lollapalooza 2009 | @ le poisson rouge | @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | on Jimmy Kimmel | Remix Monday: “Paris”
The xx: website | myspace | @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | @ DC9