I have been enamoured of Fickle Friends ever since I heard the single ‘Brooklyn’ in 2017 while living in London. Nine years later, on a mild Tuesday evening in October, I finally grabbed my chance to see them live and witness the hedonistic joy they evoke from a live crowd with a delightfully free-spirited approach to indie, synth-pop.
Bristol’s Thekla is the final stop on the Brighton four-piece’s UK tour. Once the male contingent have settled themselves behind their instruments, the group’s frontwoman, Natassja Shiner, bounces onto the stage like a burst of sunshine. She greets the crowd with a warm smile on her face, a can of Aperol in her hand, and a determination to decorate the night with glitter and joy, in her heart.
The setlist is a push and pull between tracks from Fickle Friends’ 2025 self-titled third record and their debut,You are Someone Else, which first put the band on everyone’s watchlist back in 2018. It elicits a tidal pattern to the show where unrelenting beats and catchy refrains – that invite numerous waves of singalongs – recede into slower, dreamier ripples, before the beach party atmosphere re-asserts itself with repeated flourishes.
Things kick off with ‘Swoon’, one of the best tracks from the latest record; an album which, if a bit uneven, still demonstrates flashes of the band’s panache for hooky rhythms and crisp songwriting. And Swoon, with its Wham!-like vibe, is a standout example of that nous for delicious pop.
The second half of Fickle Friends is full of fun and dance-inducing bubblegum tracks with ‘Fantasy’, ‘Feral’ and ‘UP!’ making the cut for an airing tonight. All of which are cheerfully performed by the charmingly charismatic Shiner. Throughout the night she gleefully interacts with an adoring crowd who need little encouragement to put on their boogie shoes. There is a particularly beautiful moment during ‘Happier’, as the crowd softly accompanies the refrain “I couldn’t be happier than I am right now”, where you can see that sentiment sincerely worn across Shiner’s beaming expression.
Shiner effortlessly marshals the deeply infectious musical styling with her bright energy, which glows in increasing intensity as the night continues. The performance of tracks from their vibrant and crisp debut record help re-live a time of youthful daydreaming and risky adventurism. Even the most stoic of gig-goers could not resist permitting a couple of leg muscles pulsating in unison with the sparkly beats of ‘Swim’ and ‘Glue’.
‘Pretty Great’ from 2022’s problem middle child, Are We Gonna Be Alright?, has the distinction of closing out the night with an eruption of febrile euphoria as Natti Shiner leaps into the fray to revel with a hopping crowd. The band’s mission of decorating an ordinary Tuesday night with the veneer of a thunderous weekend soiree complete.
Dan Adshead
