With a brief speckling of rain beginning to rear its head (of which would see the Campsite turn into a scene from ‘Apocalypse Now: The Underwater Years’ come Sunday evening), Friendly Fires and their euphoric synth-carnival was the perfect breather come Saturday.
The St.Alban trio have had little in the way of live exposure since they began mastering their self-titled debut in a bedroom last year. But if there were ever any signs their lush dance-pop was DIY we’ve yet to find it. Instead, a bold ‘Paris’ sees singer Ed Macfarlane flailing around the stage in an endorphin-rushing trance, before That Chorus hits and the crowd duly erupt. ‘Jump In The Pool’ is just as amazing: a concoction of Rio Carnival percussion, ice-cold synths that still manage to swell the heartstrings and in ‘Strobe’ the band have bagged themselves a future dancefloor sleigher.
The crowd may be witnessing the beginnings of a mini-monsoon, but on the second stage Fires are burning brightly.
