Review: Friendly Fires – ‘Hawaiian Air’

Fresh from a blistering set at T in the Park, during which Ed Macfarlane’s David Brent-esque dance moves stirred the crowd into a surging frenzy, the second single from Friendly Fires’ sophomore album, ‘Pala‘, sees release.

‘Hawaiian Air’ is a somewhat hilarious, fun song that is accompanied by an equally blithesome video with the theme of ‘bonkers flight’ (‘Takin a ride to another clime, knees in my back as we’re flyin high’). Funky and harmonious, the music is quick and falls into the same category as many of FF’s previous songs – roughly dubbed dance-punk, with a deft samba touch to boot.

Insistent drums rattle away throughout the song (cymbals teased more than hit) and the refrain of ‘Can I take this all in?’ is pleasantly shoutable in an ovation-sense, while some of the lyrics simply amuse (‘Skippin the meal for a G and T!’).

The sun-soaked sound is perhaps as diametrically different to, say, The Horrors’ current single ‘Still Life’: a goofy, unselfconscious and shining pop anthem that one can’t get their MC Hammer-meets-Flashdance groove on to. ‘Up in the sky Honolulu-bound!’ Party on.

(Ronnie McCluskey)