Since they burst onto the scene, Folly Group have always been a force to be reckoned with. Driven by the dual percussion axis of Kai Akinde-Hummel and Sean Harper they create soundscapes that punch deep into your core.
Their new single, ‘I’ll Do What I Can’, might be the punchiest they’ve ever produced. A darker, heavier number built up with frantic, driving guitars providing a platform for Harper’s sinister vocals.
The track is about finding unnatural forgiveness and describing the topics at play. Harper talks of “a push and pull between a kind of social muscle memory which helps us forget our upset for the sake of the group and a separate internal voice that shouts, “you don’t owe this person your company right now.” This push and pull is felt through the song musically the angular guitars jabbing in and out of your ear drums. You can feel it pulling you apart.
As a track, it is a rock song. Not what you’d normally expect, but Folly Group’s distinct sound takes the genre in their unique direction.
Folly Group’s Spotify bio hints at this experimental playfulness. Currently reading “what’s new, old power?”. Given they have always been lazily branded under the ever-growing “post-punk” umbrella, this statement immediately feels like them lashing out at this. However, with ‘I’ll Do What I Can’ feeling like a foray into the rock arena, we’re starting to build evidence that it’s more of an ethos the band have lived by in the making of their debut album, “Down There!”.
The first single from the highly-anticipated record, ‘Strange Neighbour’, was a rumbling, spiky piece of jungle rock, before ‘Big Ground’ which was an afro-punk track that sits firmly amongst the songs of the year. Add a darker, heavier rock number to the mix and we find a band intent on experimentation. Not just for experiment’s sake however, but to showcase an ability to take on new genres, make it there and deliver near-virtuoso results.
So, what’s new? In this case, it’s a sound you’ve never heard Folly Group try, better than anything the old power could muster.
Photo by CLUMP Collective
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