Listen to FRIEND/ENEMY
Friend/Enemy aren’t strictly a new band. They released their debut album, ’10 Songs’, way back in 2002. But they fell dormant soon after and while the members have been very busy elsewhere, it’s been radio silence ever since.
That is, before suprise-releasing a second full-length just last week.
About those members. Friend/Enemy is yet another project of the pioneering and influential Tim Kinsella. As well as being another branch of the Kinsella musical family tree though, this group has royal indie blood flowing through it. New album, ‘HIH NO/ON’ also features erstwhile members of Joan of Arc, American Football, Fruit Bats, Man Man, Mute Duo, Drag City, Spa Moans and more.
They aren’t resting on their laurels here however. The album, actually recorded in 2016 following the US Presidential Election, is sinewy, skronky rock and pissed-off indie punk of high order.
In their own words: “In November 2016, shocked and devastated by the election of President Apocalypse Fuckface, a group of us sought normalcy, distraction, and community the best we could, in a recording studio. These songs were written and recorded quick—all within just a couple days— with minimal overdubs, a minimal slogan approach to lyrics, and the idea of finally cranking out the simple “guitar rock” record my various industry partners had been nudging me to do for the previous 20 years… The record got lost in the clutter of all of our busy schedules and greater priorities, but now that the world is suddenly shuttered, no time like the present, eh?”
Friend/Enemy aren’t a new band then, but they do merit a new introduction! For fans of Joan of Arc, Slint, and rock ‘n’ roll’s uncanny valley.