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9.0
26182
9.0 |
BBC
Another terrific, clattering celebration of an album that sounds nothing like its peers
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9.0
26017
9.0 |
musicOMH
It seems Pala is Friendly Fires' successful attempt to translate their positivity-injected carnival live performances into a record
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8.3
27195
8.3 |
A.V. Club
Feels like a great shindig-starter, complete with wiggly, disco basslines and subtext-free lyrics
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8.0
27101
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Inescapably intoxicating and surprisingly fresh
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8.0
27507
8.0 |
Rave Magazine
A sublime sophomore album
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8.0
26754
8.0 |
The Digital Fix
Required summer listening
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8.0
26775
8.0 |
No Ripcord
The energy is so great on Pala that it’s not until track 8, the somewhat wearying True Love, when you feel the formula may be first starting to go stale
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8.0
26833
8.0 |
The Fly
Friendly Fires strut their stuff in the way only a band who regularly hang out with samba dancers can - irresistibly and in glorious technicolour
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8.0
26861
8.0 |
The Quietus
It's a clever, delightful little thing and it deserves to zing from the radio
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8.0
26549
8.0 |
NME
Big, bounteous of hook and packed with more senseless beauty than an acre of rainforest
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8.0
26586
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Giant choruses, relatable lyrics, a million earworm riffs and 11 dance anthem
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8.0
26678
8.0 |
The Guardian
It's all done with such passion that the more sugared tracks avoid the risk of boyband smoothness, and will surely blast out across barbecues and festivals this summer
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8.0
26686
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
What we have in Pala is not some great band reinvention, or some desperately profound effort; it’s giant choruses, relatable lyrics, a million earworm riffs and 11 dance anthems
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8.0
26705
8.0 |
State
Ed McFarlane’s dancing may have looked a bit silly the first time around but he’s now got the escapist pop songs to back it up
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8.0
26726
8.0 |
Evening Standard
So sunny is the second outing from St Albans trio Friendly Fires that you should really apply Factor 20 before listening to it
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7.4
27216
7.4 |
Pitchfork
There's an array of styles tried on and, for the most part, successfully worn
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7.0
27234
7.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
Pure, unadulterated fun
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7.0
27274
7.0 |
Under The Radar
It's a comfort zone guaranteed to get bodies on the dancefloor, and it becomes difficult to argue predictability verses innovation with a drink in your hand and a groove in your step
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7.0
27275
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
Terrific
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7.0
27077
7.0 |
PopMatters
Both delightfully cheesy and embarrassingly so
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7.0
27203
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
This is unmistakably a full-blown pop record, residing in a sugared hinterland that takes its cues from Prince, George Michael, and the like
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6.0
26738
6.0 |
The Observer
A languid and propulsive listen
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6.0
26980
6.0 |
The Irish Times
A concrete effort, but the trio’s attempts to recreate the spark that fortuitously ignited their debut sounds a little too calculated in places
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6.0
26020
6.0 |
Q
Sunshine pop so intense you feel your nose burn. Print edition only
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4.0
26021
4.0 |
Mojo
It's an album that takes itself very seriously. Print edition only
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4.0
26771
4.0 |
Clash
One thing is for certain: they’ve produced a much more pop orientated album. Clash isn’t anti-pop, but we are anticheese
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4.0
26674
4.0 |
The Independent
As wrong a turning as any young, upcoming band has taken in the past decade
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