Friendly Fires return with first new music in seven years

Friendly Fires are back after seven years away. The St Albans band returned this week with "Lose All Your Friends," their first new music since 2019's Inflorescent, released via LAB Records.

The group now operates as a two-piece featuring Ed Macfarlane and Edd Gibson, and the new single reflects that smaller lineup. Garage recordings, live drums and a leaner, more instinctive approach replace some of the polish of the band's earlier work, giving "Lose All Your Friends" a loose, psychedelic energy that recalls LCD Soundsystem and Panda Bear.

The song is built around the idea of taking a wrong turn, losing your friends for a night and seeing where it leads, leaning into going with the flow rather than worrying about the outcome. "Sometimes you have to lose everything to start again," the band said. "Embrace the chaos. Take a chance. Don't be afraid of change."

Friendly Fires built their name in the late 2000s and early 2010s as festival mainstays, known for high-energy live shows that made them a fixture on UK summer bills; the band marked the 15th anniversary of their debut album with a 2023 reissue and UK tour. Seven years since their last album, "Lose All Your Friends" suggests a rawer, more stripped-back chapter for the indie group rather than a straightforward return to their earlier sound.

No word yet on whether a full album will follow, but the return marks the longest gap of new material in the band's history, arriving the same month as new tracks from Wolf Alice and Chloé Caillet tracked alongside it in the release calendar, and early reaction suggests fans have been waiting for exactly this kind of comeback.