Loosen Up And Jump Right In

I loved Friendly Fires' debut album in 2008, kind of missed their follow up Pala in 2011 and was completely oblivious to their third album Inflorescent in 2019. To be honest, in 2026 I thought that Friendly Fires were no longer a going concern.

So, the arrival on Wednesday of new single Lose All Your Friends was as unexpected as it was welcome. 

Co-founder Jack Savidge has departed, leaving Ed Macfarlane and Edd Gibson to continue, but this is a promising return. Rather than recreating their original sound from 2008, they've arguably gone back another twenty years, with a sound that's reminiscent of the sunset / Balearic / comedown sounds of 1988.

If you like the 3:48 video version, you buy the full 5 minute single version from Bandcamp for the bargain price of 80p, or go for the usual streaming/download suspects.

I'm also going to track down Pala and Inflorescent, and reacquaint myself with their self-titled debut. The latter got off to a rousing start with this single, which I misheard as "Jump In The Poo" and have been stuck with ever since...

I Wanna Go To Paris With You

Inspired by yesterday's French DJ mix, the first Dubhed selection of 2022 features a dozen Paris-themed songs. Along the way, you get two artists genuinely from Paris (Les Negresses Vertes, Anne Pigalle), a couple of would-be tourists (Friendly Fires, Adam & The Ants) and a completely made-up, retro-fitted 1990s band (Brits Abroad aka Julian Cope & chums, which you can read about in a 2015 post by The Vinyl Villain). As you might expect, the latter is not a paean to the questionable 1972 film by Bernardo Bertolucci, but a tribute to the soft drink exploits of a (fictional) touring band, e.g.

 

It was not the penultimate Tizer in Hull,

It was the last Tango in Paris 

 

The selection wraps up inevitably with Adam & The Ants' debut single, which wasn't a hit first time around. However, the song enjoyed 13 weeks in the UK singles chart and a peak of #9 when re-released at the end of 1980 on the back of the success of Antmusic.

1) I Love Paris (Cover of Lilo): Les Negresses Vertes (1990)

2) Paris: Tacks, The Boy Disaster (2006)

3) Paris 1919 (String Mix): John Cale (1973)

4) Souvenir d'Un Paris (French Version): Anne Pigalle (1985)

5) Paris (Album Version): Friendly Fires ft. Au Revoir Simone (2008)

6) Haliod Xerrox Copy 3 (Paris): Alva Noto (2007)

7) Paris Four Hundred (Album Version): Mylo (2003)

8) Last Tango In Paris ("Originally released in 1990"): Brits Abroad (2014)

9) Plaster Of Paris: Pixies (2016)

10) Paris s'enflamme (French Version of Paris Is Burning): Ladyhawke (2008)

11) Paris In Flares: The Housemartins (1987)

12) Young Parisians (Single Version): Adam & The Ants (1978)

I Wanna Go To Paris With You (44:13)