Heaven, London
Despite a gold debut album and Brit and Mercury nominations, Friendly Fires are still a long way from household-name status – something the St Albans trio intend to rectify. Singer Ed Macfarlane recently claimed his band are "the new big headline dance act", the natural successors to the Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk. Unlikely as it sounds, he could be right. Though they cannot compete in terms of splashy visuals – those acts have dazzling graphics and crazed costumery, where Friendly Fires have a strobe light and confetti – they've got one thing nailed: their tunes say "party" in a way this summer's festival crowds will find hard to resist.
With its nods to both nu- and old rave, the music compels even the bar staff to nod along, but also incorporates a poppy brevity that sees them tick off 14 songs in a little over an hour. The sound is a joyous harvesting of many influences, coated in melody and sung by a disco-dancing Macfarlane. On Board offers a touch of Hot Chip's glitchiness with the nerdiness excised, Skeleton Boy revisits the Anglo-funk of A Certain Ratio, and Live Those Days Tonight – the first single from their new album, Pala – has a euphoric acid-house breakdown accompanied by a blizzard of confetti.
More confetti drifts down throughout the set, creating a cross between an indoor rave and a budget street carnival. The audience are packed in so tightly that dancing is restricted to arms flapping above heads, but the communal exuberance bodes well for the festival circuit. The goodwill is certainly there: the slick hits Paris and Jump in the Pool have the place flapping in unison, and the set ends with the feeling that the fans expect to follow this band to much bigger things.