FM Belfast are set to release their debut album, How to Make Friends, on January 22nd. We heard the first single from the the album, Par Avion, back in October and we were excited to see what else they could do. Well, after listening to the album, all I  have are mixed feelings about it.

Their sound, is a very chill, laidback, non conventional electro-indie-pop. Not too many dance floor tracks, but more of “sit back and take the day in” type of tracks. At times it reminded me, in style at least, of bands like Yacht or LCD Soundsystem– simple groovin’ music with spoken word/sort of singing lyrics.

What I really enjoyed from this album were the vocals .  FM Belfast utilized two voices, a boy and a girl (Árni Plúseinn  and Lóa who are the original members) and it makes for great dynamics in their songs. The harmonies between the 2 vocalist are also spot on and the variation adds depth to the the simplistic music underneath it. The other thing I enjoyed was the content of their lyrics. There was no love/sappy lyrics on this album, just songs about  everyday experiences of life. There is a song about underwear, being president, VHS tapes, as well as an awesome cover of “Pump Up the Jam” which was the very first track they made together as a Christmas present for their friends (def check that one out, you will be quite amazed)

The melodies in the songs were all good, and some very catchy, but the biggest problem I had with the songs, and the album in whole, is that a lot of the songs sounded really similar. I.e they use the same synths, melodies, types of progressions and so on. I really wanted to hear some variation in their sound and got much of the same.

The similar sounds of the songs should not be a hindrance to checking out the album because although its sounds the same in many ways, their way of showing it is quite different.

enjoY!
FM Belfast – I Can Feel Love