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It’s November and the compiling of year-end lists is in full effect. Pity then that Friendly Fires waited until the month of eschewing the new and reflecting on the year’s bounty to put out what is easily one of the best music videos this year, in support of one of the finest tracks on their very fine 2011 sophomore release Pala. Directed by special effects whiz David Lewandowski, whose efforts were recently seen on the big screen in last year’s remake of Tron, the video has the feel of a higher-scale Daft Punk video. For the trivia hounds among us, it’s been alleged on Tumblr that lead singer Ed Macfarlane—dancing dynamo that he is—left the strutting and grinding to a(personal opinion: less sensuous)double for the video; Macfarlane was relegated to a green screen in order to have his head boxified.—Maria Schurr
One of the more stylishly heartbroken songs from Friendly Fires’ sophomore record Pala is given a goofy, kind of surreal treatment… which isn’t that surprising when you realize that it was put together by the guy who did “Going to the Store.” Like the band itself, the video is bright and happy-go-lucky enough on the surface, but there’s a little pathos poking through… and unlike the travelogue video for “Hawaiian Air”, there isn’t a happy ending. Street dancing and massive damage; not a bad representation of Friendly Fires’ music, really.—Ian Mathers
