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Sounds like:
Hot Chip,
Passion Pit,
Miike Snow
Why do we like this?
I'll always have a soft spot for great pop. Let's be honest, no matter how much the pretentious side of me wants to highlight obscure musical complexities with "look what I can appreciate" analysis, time and time again I'm a sucker for simple, shameless pop music. The bright tones, catchy hooks, wordless 'oh oh' refrains, and 4/4 time so even your grandma can clap on beat... they all unite as my kryptonite. Why? Well, when the combination succeeds it generally provides pure, unadulterated fun. My most recent experience of such has come in the form of FM Belfast: an electro-pop group from ReykjavÃk, Iceland delivering warm, contagious dance music that will keep you moving through the most frigid of Nordic winters (or simply uplift a spoiled Southern Californian like myself through an overcast day).
In 2005, FM Belfast started as a 'studio project' and consisted of only two members (bare with me on the Icelandic names): Ãrni Rúnar Hlöðversson and Lóa HlÃn Hjálmtýsdóttir - but were just too good to be limited to side project status. With rising popularity, the duo expanded a year later and brought another, Ãrni Vilhjálmsson, on board to facilitate a full live act. Today, FM Belfast play shows with anywhere from the 3 core members to a complete 8-person group "depending on who can make it."
How To Make Friends is a hand-crafted gem, literally. FM Belfast took it upon themselves to record, mix, master, and even create the album art themselves. The result is an 11-song bundle that will keep even the most 'ADHD-prone' listener intrigued for its entirety. The Icelanders entertain with a tag-you're-it style of trading lines between the three vocalists (ranging from female voice to awkwardly-high male falsetto). This ménage à trois of singing is backed by relatively simplistic, yet always sufficient, playful 8-bit and lo-fi keyboard beats.
The bouncy, lighthearted instrumentation is a perfect pairing for FM Belfast's amusing, and often humorous, lyricism. One of my favorite tracks from the LP, "VHS," addresses the protagonists' inability to cope with technology formats changing and becoming obsolete - a loving ode to VHS collections and VCR players:
This is far from the extent of the fun.
While they may be singing in jest, don't get the wrong idea - the music is seriously good. Give How To Make Friends a chance and FM Belfast will surely win you over with their quirky foreign charm.
In 2005, FM Belfast started as a 'studio project' and consisted of only two members (bare with me on the Icelandic names): Ãrni Rúnar Hlöðversson and Lóa HlÃn Hjálmtýsdóttir - but were just too good to be limited to side project status. With rising popularity, the duo expanded a year later and brought another, Ãrni Vilhjálmsson, on board to facilitate a full live act. Today, FM Belfast play shows with anywhere from the 3 core members to a complete 8-person group "depending on who can make it."
How To Make Friends is a hand-crafted gem, literally. FM Belfast took it upon themselves to record, mix, master, and even create the album art themselves. The result is an 11-song bundle that will keep even the most 'ADHD-prone' listener intrigued for its entirety. The Icelanders entertain with a tag-you're-it style of trading lines between the three vocalists (ranging from female voice to awkwardly-high male falsetto). This ménage à trois of singing is backed by relatively simplistic, yet always sufficient, playful 8-bit and lo-fi keyboard beats.
The bouncy, lighthearted instrumentation is a perfect pairing for FM Belfast's amusing, and often humorous, lyricism. One of my favorite tracks from the LP, "VHS," addresses the protagonists' inability to cope with technology formats changing and becoming obsolete - a loving ode to VHS collections and VCR players:
they made me, made me switch the systems
you glow on VHS, you glow on
i miss your zeroes blinking bright in the dark
i lie awake and stare in the night you left me with no options
This is far from the extent of the fun.
- "Frequency" recalls having to be the designated driver for drunken relatives.
- "Underwear" addresses running through the streets half-naked to provide entertainment in a miserably boring hometown where "We count the days until nothing".
- "Pump" is a cover of Technotronic's 1989 hit "Pump Up The Jam" - except it's barely recognizable as FM Belfast play it at quarter-speed. Who knew this track could be more fun/ridiculous as a slow jam?
- "Lotus" is a must-hear, synthed-out cover of Rage Against the Machine's "Killing In the Name."
- "Synthia" opens with the line: "I tried my best to put you back together," a song about the group's desire to save an abused synthesizer from a neglectful owner.
While they may be singing in jest, don't get the wrong idea - the music is seriously good. Give How To Make Friends a chance and FM Belfast will surely win you over with their quirky foreign charm.
Streaming source:
http://soundcloud.com/fmbelfast/synthia
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