Friends of Friends – Deep Search

As I waited for the bus this morning I thought about how I was going to review this record. I didn’t have it all planned out, but I thought I would start with something like “Friends of Friends’ debut full length record, Deep Search, is an engrossing album working with two opposites types of songs. The first type is a strong, gritty, visceral punk type of song that, despite all of its glowing praises, ultimately feels somewhat forgettable and falls into the background; while the second type of song are songs that are so full of pure awesomery that they deserve a newly created adjective of their very own.”

I wasn’t sure what adjective I was going to invent and simply settled on “awesomery” for the time being. I felt it was true. Tracks like Some Kind of Fake, The Search for the Perfect Wage and Enough Was Enough are all songs that single-handedly confirm my love for gritty punk. They’re energetic, visceral, and pounding. They’re intelligent and witty at the same time, delivering thought-provoking lyrics that spout of stories saying, as their bio puts it, “my life sorta sucks but I’m still here.” The songs get your blood pounding, your feet running and fist pumping as you instantly sing along with the call-for-arms chants. Throw in the solid bass lines, distorted guitar riffs and vocals that would make Chuck Ragan proud and you have your perfect Gainesville punk song tinged with a smart sense of melody.

At the same time as those songs pumped me up and excited me every time I played them, I felt that there were songs on Deep Search that failed to live up to their counterparts and simply faded into the background. As the bus ride progressed I flipped through a few CDs. First was Higher Giant, then the new Polar Bear Club and then I found my way back to Friends of Friends to give it another spin as I killed time before class.

This time the record felt different. Those awesome songs were still full of awesomery, but the others, the ones who had previously fell into the background, seemed more prominent now. The opening track ofStillness Illness jumped further ahead, with the dual vocals yelling overtop of one another sounding better than before and brought in more controversy-provoking lyrics. Endless Bummer brought forward the perfect No Idea sound, with screaming, worn out vocals escaping from the speakers and pummeling the listener into submission; it was like Dear Landlord revisited. Restless Legs was a better and more energetic Polar Bear Club track; and Path of Logic was a cynical, angst-filled tune.

It took a few more listens but Deep Search has turned into an album worthy of some great recognition – and this time for more than just Some Kind of Fake, The Search of the Perfect Wage and Enough was Enough. Turns out I couldn’t start my review saying some tracks fell into the background, or at least not in the conventional sense anyway.

Oh, and by the way, you can get the entire CD for free here. How sweet is that?