The Watch: Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires get electrified (Credit: Catherine Losing)

What's their sound?
This fresh U.K. outfit is led by singer Ed Macfarlane, whose enthralling stage presence is akin to Jarvis Cocker on ecstasy fronting the best post-punk dance band of the last few years.

What's their sound?
Friendly Fires combine big, anthemic choruses; nervy, angular guitars; dreamy shoegaze atmospheres; and hot-footed dance beats. They quickly garnered an ocean of buzz upon hitting America, exploding onto the scene with their debut single, "Paris." That song's rolling drums and U2-meets-M83 hook earned critical acclaim and an army of freshly minted fans. The Fires' self-titled debut full-length expounds on that sound, incorporating the herky-jerk rhythms of early Devo, the punk-funkisms of Franz Ferdinand and the Rapture ("In The Hospital," "Lovesick"), and the classic post-punk guitar scratches of Gang of Four ("Photobooth").

Is their game tight?
Friendly Fires won over many stateside fans with show-stealing opening gigs for Lykke Li on her recent U.S. jaunt. They were one of the first bands tapped to appear on "Rockville," the much-discussed Web series from Josh Schwartz, though their taping at the Echoplex was canceled at the last minute due to "extermination chemicals in the air."

X-Factor
Macfarlane, who claims techno legend Carl Craig as a big influence, cut his musical teeth producing dance tracks for U.K. electronic-indie label Skam, which has also put out records by Boards of Canada and the mysterious Gescom.

See Friendly Fires headline Spaceland on Dec. 7

Scott T. Sterling is Music editor for Metromix Los Angeles.