Friendly Fires have announced their long-awaited fourth album, ‘Dig Deeper’ – listen to new single ‘Magnetic’ below.
The 11-track project is due for release on January 15 via LAB Records, following on from 2019’s ‘Inflorescent’. You can pre-order/pre-save it here.
“Attraction is a force so strong it can be beyond our control. What we want and what we should do aren’t always the same,” the band explained about the meaning behind their latest song. “Can you ever take charge over something so powerful?”
In the glistening chorus, frontman Ed Macfarlane expresses the difficulties of not giving into temptation in the face of undeniable chemistry: “Take it off/ It’s all I’m wanting, but I have to say no/ Take it off/ When we’re magnetic, it’s so hard to let go.”
Later, he declares that “it’s time to let go, you’ve got to let go“. There are also shades of Talking Heads, who Friendly Fires have cited as an influence on their forthcoming LP.
Other song titles on ‘Dig Deeper’ include ‘Leap Of Faith’, ‘Gold Dust’, ‘Orbital’ and ‘Catherine Wheel’. ‘Lose All Your Friends’, the first single from the album, arrived last month.
“We had 100 ideas that never saw the light of day and songs that were finished but still didn’t feel right,” explained Macfarlane of how the record followed an uncertain period for the duo. “We were unsure about what the point of this was and what we’re about.”
The vocalist said the finished album contains “some of the best music we’ve written”, adding: “Doing something truly honest, putting it out there and hoping it connects with people – that feels like a huge leap of faith for us.”
Edd Gibson commented: “Our friendship has been led by the fact we’re in a band together and we’re focused on so many other things.”
Macfarlane shared: “There were things that Edd and I had never discussed before, like a friend of ours passing away when we were younger. And then a dear friend of mine also died during the making of this record.”
As well as tackling harder, more personal topics, the pair explored the key influences at the heart of Friendly Fires. They delved into their vast vault of song ideas and stems, and drew on material that represented the best of the group’s essence.
“We blasted back through the archives and reminded ourselves what Friendly Fires are all about,” said Gibson. “There was definitely a conscious effort to come back to what we were about in the first place.”
Other influences across the record include New Order, the Balearic and baggy sounds of the late-’80s, and the halcyon days of mid-2000s ‘nu-rave’ that Friendly Fires first emerged from.
“We were able to look through that lineage and see ourselves as part of it,” explained Macfarlane.
“We really care about this kind of music. We’re always operating within this continuum because that’s what inspires us and that is our identity, and we’re fully embracing it on ‘Dig Deeper’.”
On social media, the band wrote: “It has been a total labour of love and rediscovery for us. Getting back in the garage, writing from the heart, returning to our roots. It’s a pure joy to recapture what makes writing FF so exciting for us, and we can’t wait to share it with you.”
A press release notes: “‘Dig Deeper’ contains some of Friendly Fires’ most ambitious, bombastic blends yet: there are major, sweeping choruses, serene falsetto, supercharged euphoria underpinned by hypnotic dance grooves and cowbell workouts that are poised to whisk you away to more exotic climes.”
The tracklist for Friendly Fires’ ‘Dig Deeper’ is:
1. ‘Lose All Your Friends’
2. ‘Leap Of Faith’
3. ‘Gold Dust’
4. ‘Magnetic’
5. ‘Dig Deeper’
6. ‘Orbital’
7. ‘Silver Lining’
8. ‘Cuban Heels’
9. ‘SYOTOS’
10. ‘Catherine Wheel’
11. ‘Wear It Out’
The band have just announced an intimate gig at London’s Moth Club for next Thursday (September 24). Sign up here for a chance to get tickets.
Friendly Fires have confirmed a trio of European dates for January, too, taking place in Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris. You can buy tickets here, and see the full list of upcoming headline shows below.
Friendly Fires’ 2026/27 headline dates are:
SEPTEMBER 2026
24 – Moth Club, London
JANUARY 2027
27 – Frannz Club, Berlin
28 – Paradiso Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam
29 – La Maroquinerie, Paris
Meanwhile, Friendly Fires are due to open for Two Door Cinema Club at a trio of dates in New York and Boston later this month. They supported TDCC at their huge gig at Cardiff Castle this summer, and performed at some UK festivals such as Lovebox and Truck.
In 2023, Friendly Fires expanded their 15th anniversary plans for their debut album, announcing a full UK tour celebrating the 2008 LP. This coincided with new reissues of their classic single ‘Paris’.
