Fierce from the off, and parts Arctic Monkeys, Electric Soft Parade, Julian Cope, and The Jam at their punkiest, Friday Night has been a live staple for We Are Parkas for some time.
Guitar, bass and drums syncopate for chunks of the tune and their tightness lends a muscular directness to it. It spits energy in a furious, fizzy and diverse arrangement that shows real breadth and intelligence. The playing sounds as if it might be about to trip over into outright anarchy, but is actually fantastically controlled and as tight as you could wish for – smart arrangement choices abound. Particularly effective are the disparate guitar parts, panned hard left and right, and yet coming together to propel everything forward.
If it’s possible to properly drawl in a fiercely gruff rock vocal, then it’s here on Friday Night, especially in the outro choruses. In fact, I think the word ‘swagger’ may have been invented for describing attitude like this. And then of course there’s the ghost of Julian Cope flying in for a vocal stint on the bridge, all World Shut Your Mouth cool. Add to this the octave-ing guitar-synth parts and you have something sonically exciting and diverse that keeps you entertained and guessing as it moves along.
I know I probably over-use the word muscular to describe productions, but it’s surely bang on the money here. Breathless, Friday Night charges to a stop that underlines the pumping punky heart of this anthem to Friday nights everywhere.
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