As a teen in the late-’00s, who read the NME and listened to BBC Radio 1, Make Friends seem nostalgic. The Bristol band draw immediate comparisons to the likes of Bombay Bicycle Club, Foals, and Everything Everything. However, to say that they haven’t injected originality and a unique flair into their music would be an injustice. After dropping the well-received Hi last year, the group have just released a new single, Knowing Makes It Worse, which builds upon their already established indie-pop sound and polishes it with pleasurable results.
Destined to appear on a FIFA video game, the lavish production of Knowing Makes It Worse is welcomed and utilised to create a catchy and compelling gem. The soundscape composed with delays and reverbs is one you can’t help but be absorbed by, and the symphony of textures act as a cascading waterfall, falling continuously and never-ending. A driven and focused drum beat forms the foundations of the song, before a fixed bass and twinkling guitars bombard and trickle towards your ears. The tirade halts for the vocals; a hummable and melodic spout in which the narrator is questioning his partner about an aspect of their relationship. It’s never fully explained what issues are, but one can only assume from the infectious and haunting harmonies that “knowing only makes it worse”. What helps the track sustain its charge is the varying, colourful guitar lines. They ping off each other and shimmer so intently that its clear that effort has gone into the song’s construction.
Knowing Makes It Worse is a track that belongs to a decade and a half ago, but deservedly demands attention from a modern-day audience. The immersive, atmospheric sounds and irresistible, harrowing melodies will leave you stunned. “Tell me that I’m wrong”.