Problem Is by Friends of Our Youth

The Manchester and Todmorden-based outfit have been busy since the release of their November 2022 album That Was Then. The quartet is currently working on a new album after signing to AnalogueTrash earlier this year, and the first glimpse of the band’s sonic rebirth comes with new single Problem Is.

Friends of Our Youth are a Manchester-birthed four piece bringing transcendent sounds from a differently-shaped constellation where human problems have long coalesced into bright spheres of beauty and love.

On Problem Is, Friends of Our Youth rework the sound of That Was Then, as the yearning vocals and cascading guitar melody ripple over the insistent rhythm section. Indie with a strong No Wave theme, it signals that the band’s second album will maintain their track record of harnessing influences as diverse as PJ Harvey, Swans, The Strokes, Suicide, and Courtney Barnett into a fluid yet familiar and friendly sound.

Despite the warm tones of the arrangement and the light but driving nature of the melody, the song carries real emotional resonance for lead singer David. “Problems come and problems go, opinions come and opinions go,” says David. “Often, we're servile to them, but they are often self-serving, ephemeral, and agenda driven. Problem Is is about trying to navigate and avoid that hailstorm of noise, to dig deeper than for a surface level victory that's gone before it's noticed.”

The song highlights these roadblocks to happiness, but also offers up a personal answer to dealing with them. “We question ourselves all the time. As human beings we're often frustrated or disappointed and trying to attain something, what is it though? The song is partly it's a note to self: ‘don't listen, don't worry.’ Think of it as a jovial threat to run away from the noise. Are we flawed? Yes, we are, but that's where the beauty is. It's what you do that really matters, not what you say you'll do.”

FooY hail from Manchester but sound like they appeared from a faraway galaxy governed by beauty, love and glorious guitars.
FooY's sound is propelled by muscular drums and bass, clad in a polyphonic fibre of chiming guitars and glitches. Their debut album will make you punch the air in triumph, cry into your sleeve when no one is looking, then turn to hold your loved ones close.

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