Samantha Urbani, Lesley Hann, Oliver Duncan, Nikki Shapiro and Matthew Molnar are Friends – yet another fantastic band to emerge from the Brooklyn scene, they could quite easily be filed next to contemporaries Beach Fossils and The Hundred in the Hands. Recently signed to Lucky Number here in the UK, Friends only formed six months ago, but have worked hard and fast to quickly establish themselves. They have already played numerous key venues on the NYC DIY circuit including Silent Barn and Death By Audio, as well as starting a 29 date tour with label mate Darwin Deez.
Friends create a multi genre sound that is typical in alt-indie circles, drawing on aspects of noise pop, new wave, no wave and dream pop, as well as poly-rhythms from the African Diaspora and American folk. Having said that, the band still have a sound that has definite roots in New York music culture, with effects, timbres and techniques that resemble earlier NYC artists such as Tom Tom Club and ESG.
Friends’ music has a rather ramshackle, lo-fi quality to it, and has the urgent vibe of demo tape recordings. At times sparse, the music comprises a simple mix of multi-layered vocals and dynamic, percussion. On track ‘Sorry’, a soft but rich aural wave, full of beautiful, delicate timbres merges to create a sonic mural. Other tracks include a variety of interesting samples, such as white noise, a subway trainand Logic Pro audio clicks, and diverse percussion including marimbas, tambourines, cabassas, shakers and hand drums.
What is most appealing about Friends’ sound, however, is the gorgeous female vocals – the grain and character of the vocal, which has a beguiling timbre, is physically palpable. With heavy reverb usage, and a general air of melancholy, the vocals are particularly reminiscent of The Shangri-Las – aching soft, contemplative and fragile.
Friends are an exciting new band, and definitely ones to watch throughout 2011.
Read this at TGA at http://bit.ly/h1pW43
