Video: Gentle Friendly, “Real Fighters”

Even though Gentle Friendly basically make noise music, there’s still something sentimental about it. You can listen to their songs and imagine simultaneously thrashing around in some dude’s grimy basement just as easily as you can imagine it soundtracking a slideshow of all the ill middle school moments at your 8th grade graduation. This video—made by Gentle Friendly art dude Lloyd Bowen—approaches that slideshow aesthetic, except instead of photos of kids at camp, or, like, arms-length slow dances, we get collages of animals fighting each other and maybe crying?

Video: Gentle Friendly, “RIP Static”

So maybe we’re not particularly psyched on creepy stop motion animation first thing in the morning (seriously music video dudes, it was bad enough having to stomach Tool videos where sand people got plates of skin ripped off their bodies for most of the ’90s), but we are psyched on Gentle Friendly. “RIP Static” is mostly repetition, and could actually just be a couple keys held down paired with a constantly repeating chorus, but that is why Gentle Friendly work. Even though this video creeps us out just like anything else involving old-timey puppets, we’re still like, Alright lets get the day going! It’s sunny and these dudes are transmitting positive vibes all the way from the UK/that weird canyon they maybe recorded this in, and their debut album is out today, which we are totally going to pick up directly from Upset the Rhythm. (via Pinglewood)

Gentle Friendly, “Clean Breaker” MP3

If Gentle Friendly were a car, they’d be the Ghostbusters ectomobile, which was basically a vehicle with a bunch of rickety junk attached to it—though they’re playing guitars and drums, “Clean Breaker” sounds like it was constructed from dirty rubberbands and tubes they found washed up on the beach. It’s only when the ecstatic burst of guitar washes over everything that we’re reminded that these dudes are, for the most part, playing regular people instruments, and that is why they are awesome. Gentle Friendly finally—FINALLY—are releasing their debut LP Ride Slow this October on Upset the Rhythm. Also, here’s a five second video of the duo recording outside at some place called CASH CANYON.

(via RCRD LBL)

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RCRD LBL: Gentle Friendly, “Ride Around Shining”

After spending 3+ months with an assortment of Gentle Friendly songs, our favorite thing about them is how they take a bunch of weird noises—lasers, flutes, shitty drum machines—and turn the whole mess into exuberant songs. RCRD LBL has the all-new “Ride Around Shining” for download. It sounds absolutely nothing like the Clipse song of the same name but does make us want to go have drinks with some friends and maybe play laser tag. The song is from Gentle Friendly’s upcoming 7-inch, out next Monday, which is apparently the new release date for music. Also, we did a Q+A with them once.



Download: Gentle Friendly, “Ride Around Shining”

Exclusive Freeload/Q+A: Gentle Friendly, “Five Girl Night”

London’s Gentle Friendly—like No Age (but also nothing like No Age)—make rudimentary and noisy pop songs. They use old keyboards, potentially broken samplers and a drum kit to create songs like “Ride Symbols”, a mess of heavy percussion and fuzzy keys that initially inspired us to hit up the band to see what else they had in the works. In addition to a bunch of great older stuff, they sent us a grip of new songs including “Five Girl Night.” We’re not sure if “Five Girl Night” is some British slang or what, but whatever it is, it sounds like graduating from high school and spending the next 24 hours trying to forget everything you’ve ever learned (or something like that). After the jump, read our interview with Gentle Friendly as they talk about making their music with taped-up instruments and being threatened with knives.



Download: Gentle Friendly, “Five Girl Night”

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