After rising through the ranks of BBC, having their songs played on mainstream radio (making Radio One’s B and C playlists no less) and undertaking their biggest headline tour to date, 2017 is most definitely the year of Fickle Friends. With their 80s melodies, infectious energy and their adornment of ALL the vintage clothing, Fickle Friends have no trouble when it comes to proving that pop music can, and is, cool.
As the band graced the stage to a mixtape consisting of Toy Story, Tinashe and Justin Bieber under the glow of green, red and blue lights, it was immediately clear that Fickle Friends were here for one reason only: to have a good time. By opening the set with the shoegaze pop anthem ‘Hello Hello’ to match the indie dance contrast of supports, Mowbeck and Off Bloom, the crowd were dancing and singing like there was no tomorrow before the night had really began.
“Fickle Friends made sure to acknowledge the dedication of their fan base“
Having established a firm following, Fickle Friends made sure to acknowledge the dedication of their fan base by filling their set list with the playful bass laden ‘Hello, Hello’, ‘Brooklyn’ and the disco-esque ‘Cry Baby’, as well as the older more serene ‘Paris’ and ‘Say No More’. Amongst all of these fan faves, Fickle Friends showed us what was to become of them, playing new releases such as ‘Hard to Be Myself’ as well as the unreleased track ‘Wake Me Up’, telling the delighted crowd that ‘you deserve and album’, and promising them that its release is scheduled for early next year.
“It was obvious that no-one wanted the show to end“
With ‘Glue’ arguably being the band’s most popular track (in terms of airplay, anyway), it was no surprise that this would be the song to show them off and to end the night on a high just as big as it has started on. Thanks to the song’s combination of radio-ready, contagious synth pop riffs and Natti’s ethereal ‘oooh’ vocal riffs, the anthematic vibe to the night had reached its peak level. As girls clambered onto the shoulders of others and as the whole crowd clapped to the dance-inducing rhythm of the drums, it was obvious that no-one wanted the show to end.
This ability to keep a jam-packed venue engaged for the whole set without ever releasing an album is all credit to Fickle Friends’ love and mastery of their sugary sweet, pop meets indie sound. So as not to discredit the fun-infused setlist, Natti made sure to embody this energy and managed to spend the whole one-hour slot bouncing around and covering as much as the stage of possible, even wandering into the crowd for the occasional verse.
As a band, not only is their vigour amazing, but so is their enthusiastic and genuine love for each other and their profession. As Natti jigged along she shared glances with the rest of the band as they looked on, just like her, as if they had struck lucky and that this was all just a dream. Nothing could have taken the content off their faces.
“You can be guaranteed to be unable to get them out of your head”
In a sense, the night was a celebration of the band’s success and of their future. The audience were indulged in whistle stop tour of the band’s discovery thus far, showing us their progression from the days of their formation to what we can expect come the new year. Although you may not be familiar with Fickle Friends now, once their album drops you can be guaranteed to be unable to get them out of your head.
8/10
Lucy Robinson
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Images courtesy of Charlotte Hurst
