Album Review: Friends - Manifest!

A band called Friends with a single called Friend Crush is at risk of being something that cerebral people will love to tell everyone they hate, however Manifest! has more fun in its 12 tracks than those people have in an entire weekend.

This album is what would probably happen if New Young Pony Club and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs had a love child that grew up listening to Bow Wow Wow. Their drum beats are from an '80s neon jungle party, complete with bird whistles and Tarzan-like oohs and aahs, while Samantha Urbani's equally fun vocals stop the album from straying into forgettable-guitar-pop territory. A Thing Like This is one of many tracks that sound like they have come straight off a well-used cassette tape, with their refreshingly unashamed pop. This is the sort of album you could put on when you have friends over on a Saturday night, then chuck on again in the morning to brighten the hangover; it's just so harmless. The tone darkens in Ruins, but even then it's dark in a fun, b-grade horror way, and the play-at-home chants and claps of Va Fan Gör Du and zingy synths of Mind Control pick the mood back up to a place reminiscent of fly-girls and arcade game sounds.

With this album, Friends reveal how appropriate their name really is, because like their real-life namesakes, this is an album that gives you a great result without you having to try too hard. If you're feeling low or wanting to have a good time, this album will come around to your place with a bottle of cheap wine and help itself to your fridge.