Rather than comfortably slotting into the seemingly reductive and confining ‘post-punk’ label, London’s Folly Group have subverted the genre, feeding off of electronic and dance influences instead of the pastiche-fuelled embrace of their scene counterparts. Early cuts like the moody mellow of ‘Fashionista’ or the freneticism at play on ‘Sand Fight’ poised Folly Group in a unique position. Their hard-to-pinpoint take on modern alternative has continued to allow the quartet to home in on a delightfully idiosyncratic sonic assault, delivered in full on debut album ‘Down There!’, arriving courtesy of the ever-brilliant So Young Records.
‘I’ll Do What I Can’ is a moment that encapsulates Folly Group completely. Their electronic influence is designed in such a way that it is never forced; swathes of synthesisers are congenital, and chronic, fuelling the track subtly and serving the track instead of taking relentless centre stage. Despite the instrumental intensity of Folly Group, much of ‘Down There!’ cements itself in a controlled way. Every track holds an element of restraint, whether that be due to engineering or performance. But this works in the band’s favour: when the crescendo hits, it is even more explosive than predicted. ‘Bright Night’ boasts all facets of Folly Group, from the intricate and dulcet guitar lines to the cacophonous ignition that underlays the monotone hooks toward the back end of the track.
‘Down There!’ sits comfortably on an experimental, unchartered plain, a genreless crucible where the influence is audible, but scrambled in a truly unique way. Folly Group merge trip-hop, art rock and Afro-Cuban rhythms across their debut, the result a head-scratching yet awe-inspiring batch of material. An elevation of previous work, ‘Down There!’ is its own entity, ten songs interlinked by common threads but each one still stands just as amply on its own as it does in the wider scope of the record.
7/10
Words: James Mellen
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