popwreckoning

Released in the fall of 2008, Friendly Fires‘ self-titled album had me at hello. It was the sonic equivalent to the boy next door: a bit naive, a little rough around the edges, a tad tentative, yet completely unpretentious. It winked with the wide-eyed naivete able to win your heart but was sexy enough to make you feel like you were the prettiest girl in the room. Having had a love affair with its predecessor, I knew Pala had to really wow me like a knight in shining armor to even stand a chance against my darling Friendly Fires. Basically, it was an impossibly tall order.

The album was named after the fictional setting of the Aldous Huxley novel Island, and based on that alone, you can tell this album was conceived, written, and recorded with much thought. This time around, lead singer Ed Macfarlane took advantage of writing songs not just in their hometown of St. Albans like for those on Friendly Fires but also Rye in Sussex, the little village Yvetot in France, and New York. He’s talked about wanting to break out of the stereotypes that the media tried to pin on them after their first album, and certainly, no one can accuse them of writing a Friendly Fires pt. 2 with this effort. The problem? Pala is an example of how (usually) less is more. Despite the great care taken to make every sound on this album resonate beautifully (no doubt with producer Paul Epworth‘s help), there is so much going on here and in so many different directions that it’s hard to find continuity.

Having said that, there are some real winners on here. “Live Those Days Tonight,” the album’s first single, is a carnival. The first time I heard it, I hated it. I had already worried based on the “Kiss of Life” single released in the summer of 2009 that Edd Gibson‘s guitar work was going to be muted on their future recordings in favor of a heavier dance sound; for this song and most of Pala, I was right. But the song grew on me: it’s kind of hard to not eventually fall in love with it, because it’s so damn catchy. And if you’ve ever seen Macfarlane dance when the band performs live, the mental image of him swiveling his hips around to the music pops into your mind and is pretty mesmerizing. A good friend of mine just saw the band play at London’s intimate club venue Heaven on May 9 and assured me that the Friendly Fires live performance is better than ever and completely “lush,” and I take his word for it.

Let’s talk about the good. “Show Me Lights,” having a sensual r&b groove, is the stand out track on the album. Interestingly, when you compare this song’s chorus of “take me back / take me back / take me back in the darkness” to “Strobe” from the first album, which begins with the words “I see you / you come out of the strobe / you come out of the strobe,” you notice both songs are about winning back a love, just in opposite lighting situations. Comparing the new track to the old one side by side is like comparing apples and oranges, and in this case, I approve of the newer apple. “Pull Me Back to Earth” lets guitarist Gibson flex his musical muscles – thank goodness. Title track “Pala” is a fantastic slow jam; with Macfarlane’s dreamy vocals, it would have felt completely out of place on Friendly Fires. But it’s a perfect example of my “less is more” argument.

Less successful are the songs that sound like they’re from an earlier time. “Hurting” would have felt at home in the ’70s, and you almost feel compelled to do the hustle to it. The ’80s sounding “Hawaiian Air” has video game-like bleeps. Both this track and “True Love” (guest starring Holy Ghost!‘s Alex Frankel on clavinet) buzz along with Jack Savidge‘s relentless drumming leading the way, and for some reason, they just don’t ring true with me. I’m going to assume that these translate better live than on record, and I hope when the live Pala and I are formally introduced next week in Washington, we’ll get on like a house on fire.

Pala by Friendly Fires will be released in America on May 24 on XL Recordings.

Tracklisting
01. Live Those Days Tonight
02. Blue Cassette
03. Running Away
04. Hawaiian Air
05. Hurting
06. Pala
07. Show Me Lights
08. True Love
09. Pull Me Back to Earth
10. Chimes
11. Helpless

Tour Dates:
May 25 – Webster Hall / New York City
May 26 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC
May 27 – Paradise / Boston
May 28 – Corona Theatre / Montreal
May 30 – Phoenix / Toronto
May 31 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago
Jun 01 – Varsity Theater / Minneapolis
Jun 04 – Venue / Vancouver
Jun 05 – Neumo’s / Seattle
Jun 06 – Doug Fir / Portland
Jun 08 – Independent / San Francisco
Jun 10 – Music Box @ Henry Fonda / Los Angeles
Jun 11 – Teatro Chino De Six Flags / Mexico City
Jun 12 – Escenica / Monterrey, Mexico

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” | @ Paradise | Friendly Fires / Holy Ghost! – 12″ Split Single | Friendly Fires to Release Mix CD Including New Collaboration with Azari & III | Friendly Fires Announce Appearance at South by Southwest and Spring North American Tour, Album Due Out Soon

Alex Frankel, one half of New York City electronic act Holy Ghost!, was kind enough to lend his typing fingers and answer some questions for me while he and his partner in crime Nick Millhiser are busy touring North America as support for LCD Soundsystem. The duo recently released their first “album” of material, the Static on the Wire EP, and they’re set for a summer full of shows and festival appearances. I ask him about how they got into recording music, his philosophy behind “good” dance music, and their recent cover of Friendly Fires‘ “On Board,” amongst other things. Have a read.

Mary Chang, PopWreckoning: I’ve read that you two met in grade school.  Did you bond immediately over music, certain bands, in band class, etc.?  How did you become friends?
Alex Frankel, Holy Ghost!: Nick was more skateboardy and I was more, sweat pantsy? We did play in a band in 5th grade (ages 9/10, respectively) that practiced in “The Cage” [a storage space in their elementary school] and was instructed by our social science teacher, Mrs. Preston, who was a very cosmic lady seemingly stuck in the late 1970s. But yeah, we always were doing some music here and there together.

MC: I’ve also read that you were members of a short-lived teen hip hop act in the ’90s called Automato. What instruments did you play, did you sing…? What happened with it?
AF: Nick played drums, I played keys. It started when we were 15 but we did it until 2005 actually. It’s how we met James [Murphy] and Tim [Goldsworthy, founders of independent label DFA Records], who produced the record. It faded out, too many cooks in the kitchen, too long spent on the same bunch of songs…we’re all still friends.

MC: How did you get involved with spinning and the making of dance music? Do you each have a personal philosophy towards dance music and what makes it great for you? Is this philosophy different when you yourselves are enjoying the beats in a club vs. when you’re DJaying or performing live?
AF: I like music that I have a pleasurable physical response to. I usually go “oooooooohhh” if I like something. And that means some wiring in my brain has been stimulated by the sounds or chords or whatever. But I guess what makes it GREAT is when the physical thing is there, but additionally there is also something emotional that I relate to on top of the music…like lyrics. Like LCD Soundsystem. Or Chic. Or David Bowie. Or Talking Heads.

MC: There are so many great clubs in New York. What are your favorites to spin at? What about when you’ve got a day off and you just want to hear good music and/or dance?
AF: This is such an interesting question because everyone asks it and here’s the deal: New York clubs rotate their musical style on a night to night basis these days. Meaning, one night the same club has techno, the next night is ska-fusion night. So, there are no clubs that are ALWAYS good. Like Paradise Garage once was. So I don’t know anyone who just “goes out to dance” and “hopes it’ll be good.” We go to places we know our friends or artists we like listening to will be at. But that venue changes every night. Places of interest are le poisson rouge, Santos Party House, Glasslands.

MC: As for dance scenes, do you each have a favorite?  London?  Ibiza?  Berlin?
AF: I’m not sure how to answer that, I guess every place is different? I really love the classic sounds of New York City and Chicago and Detroit. The grit. But I also love the clean, sharp music from Germany, starting from Kraftwerk all the way up to today. We’re pretty open-minded.

MC: Your 2008 single “Hold On” has really taken on a life of its own.  During an informal trawling of the Web, I found evidence that fans of dance music think it’s one of those tracks that will live on in dance music history forever (for one, check this link out).  Did you have any idea that “Hold On” was going to blow up as big as it did?
AF: Absolutely no idea it would go beyond our circle of friends!!

MC: When you started writing and recording music as Holy Ghost!, did you already have an idea of where you wanted to go musically? Did you / do you feel influenced by any artists past or present, dance or not?
AF: We wanted to make something that didn’t embarrass our friends, and we wanted to make something that sounded like the music we liked. We wanted to make music that people could dance to but that also was in line with our love of pop music structures.

MC: Let’s switch gears and talk about your releases for this year. In March, you put out a split single with one of PopWreckoning’s favorites, Friendly Fires. The BBC and British music media did a pretty good job of covering their side of what happened on this came about.  Is it true that the idea came up over a drunken haze at Calvi on the Rocks in Ibiza last summer?  How do you guys know each other?  Tell us more.
AF: Haha! Yeah, me and Ed [Macfarlane] met at Calvi last year during our DJ set, and I think about 30 minutes later we had agreed on a cover swap. Just clicked right off the bat. Good bloke.

MC: I really liked what you did with “On Board”, the DFA Celestial Choir was a nice touch, as was the bounce of “don’t stop, don’t stop” in the middle.  How did you choose that track, and how did you approach doing this cover?
AF: Thanks!!! It took forever. There were a bunch of huge personal and technical setbacks during the recording, and it took about 6 weeks. In the end we were really happy with it, felt like we made it our own but kept their original ideas relatively intact. Really fun project.

MC: It must have felt really different doing a full-fledged cover than a remix, being so famous for doing remixes for such high-profile friends like Moby and James Murphy / LCD Soundsystem.
AF: Eh, not really. Our “remixes” are often times covers. See the Moby remix (“I Love to Move in Here”) for evidence, where not one sound from the original was used, including vocals.

MC: Your first album-type release, the Static on the Wire EP, was released last month (May 18) on DFA Records. Only four songs but I think it’s a great taster to get people into what Holy Ghost! the recording act is all about.  How long did it take to record them? Was it quick from start to finish or have these ideas been percolating since the days of “Hold On”?
AF: I don’t know, it’s hard to distinguish things in retrospect. But we’ve been working on a batch of about 13 to 14 songs for 2 or 3 years. These are four. The rest are on the album.

MC: Last month you played your first live, non-DJ gig at Under 100 on May 15. I didn’t have the privilege of being there but some friends were there and really enjoyed the show. What was going through your mind before you went on?
AF: STAGE FRIGHT!!!! (Alex provided us with the below YouTube link)

MC: What’s it been like touring with LCD Soundsystem on your first “tour” of the continent?
AF: AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING. BEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. BEST BAND IN THE WORLD. WE WAKE UP SO HAPPY EVERY DAY.

MC: You have some high profile appearances in Europe coming up this summer – Calvi on the Rocks to do a live set, London appearances at [the now endangered] Fabric club and the Groove Armada-founded festival Lovebox, and a festival slot at Germany’s Melt. Are there any particular shows that you are most looking forward to? I know I’m looking forward to your appearance in DC at the U Street Music Hall in less than 3 weeks.
AF: Actually, aside from Calvi, I’m most psyched for U Street. I’ve heard unbelievable things about the club! Oh, and Summerstage in Central Park because my mom and dad can walk from their houses.

MC: When will your first full-length album hit store shelves? (Or maybe “available for electronic download” is a more appropriate phrase.) Anything you can tell us about it now?
AF: It’s not dissimilar from what you’ve heard already. Some shorter, “poppier” songs, but not really. It’s funky. I hope. January [2011 release]?

MC: Some last questions. Your name Holy Ghost! with the exclamation point – who came up with it? Were you ever concerned about the obvious religious connotation?
AF: It’s from a Bar-Kays‘s song [a soul, r&b, and funk band founded in the mid-60s that had a single called "Holy Ghost Pt. I / Holy Ghost Pt. II" in 1975], we needed a name. We think it looks cool too.

Holy Ghost!‘s Static on the Wire EP is available from DFA Records now.

Tour Dates
Jun 04 – Hollywood Palladium / Los Angeles*
Jun 05 – Standard Hotel – Los Angeles
Jun 08 – Stubb’s / Austin*
Jun 09 – Palladium / Dallas*
Jun 12 – 88 Palace / New York City (DJ set)
Jun 18 – Sonar / Baltimore
Jun 19 – U Street Music Hall / Washington, DC
Jun 25 – Making Time / Philadelphia
Jun 25 – Vinyl / Denver (DJ set)
Jul 26 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC#
Jul 27 – Trocadero / Philadelphia#
Jul 29 – Bowery Ballroom / New York City#
Jul 30 – MEG Festival / Montreal#
Aug 02 – Capital Music Hall / Ottawa#
Aug 03 – Phoenix / Toronto#
Aug 04 – Central Park SummerStage / New York City^
Aug 05 – Majestic Theater / Detroit#
Aug 06 – Lollapalooza / Chicago
Aug 07 – First Avenue / Minneapolis#
Aug 10 – Flames Central / Calgary#
Aug 11 – Commodore Ballroom / Vancouver#
Aug 12 – Showbox Market / Seattle#
Aug 13 – Roseland Ballroom / Portland#
Aug 16 – House of Blues / San Diego#
Aug 19 – Twilight Concert Series / Salt Lake City
Aug 20 – Ogden Theater / Denver#
Aug 24 – Stubb’s / Austin#
Aug 25 – Palladium / Dallas#
Aug 26 – Cannery Ballroom / Nashville#
Aug 27 – Masquerade / Atlanta#
* supporting LCD Soundsystem
^ with Hot Chip
# with Chromeo

Holy Ghost!: website | myspace | Friendly Fires / Holy Ghost! – 12” Split Single

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