Fickle Friends

After a brief hiatus, beloved indie pop band Fickle Friends are back

After a brief hiatus, beloved indie pop band Fickle Friends are back on tour with Independent Venues Trust. They last visited back in 2022, and a modest Norwich Arts Centre crowd showed they were extremely welcome back.

Essex band Palmist kicked off the night with their exhilarating indie bangers. Reminiscent of The 1975 and Pale Waves, their blend of thrashing guitars, clanging drums and vibrant synths lit up the room. They were the perfect palet cleanser to warm everyone up.

Folk pop heartbreaker Tadhg Daly followed. His songs tunes were impressively polished, as the swelling acoustic guitar and melting vocals captivated the audience. He's reminiscent of recent breakthrough act Myles Davis, and the hey-ho jauntiness of The Lumineers. Tadhg showed real potential for growth, and it did feel like one of those support slots you'll reserve for bragging rights when he gets massive.

Fickle Friends burst onto the stage opening with the spiralling euphoria of classic hit “Glue”, met with instantaneous belting along by everyone in the room. It was impossible to stand still. This continued with retro smash “Brooklyn”. New tracks “Feral” and “Swoon” had a crunchier edge showcasing promise for future projects.

Lead singer Natti took a moment to give a shout out to Independent Venues Trust, and highlight the crisis small venues are in around the country. It was an all too important reminder that these venues are the life blood of the UK music industry, and we need to collectively support them to keep them going.

“Love You To Death” was a particular highlight, with it's 1-2 hit chantable chorus. The trickling synths of the anthemic “Swim” felt like a call to action with it's jivable enigmatic passion.

It's great to see Fickle Friends back, and they're better than ever. Long may their legacy of tropical indie synth retro bangers continu