Folly Group – ‘Down There!’ album review: an underdeveloped exploration of post-punk
THE SKINNY: For a number of years now, the post-punk genre has been steadily becoming increasingly oversaturated. Whereas, in years gone by, young bands often attempted to recreate the indie rock of Arctic Monkeys, the modern musical landscape is awash with bands desperate to capture Dan Carey’s Speedy Wunderground sound. East-London quartet Folly Group tend to fall into that category.
First forming as a project between housemates in 2019, Folly Group showed a lot of promise with their early material. Singles like ‘Butt No Rifle’ or ‘Sand Fight’ from 2021’s Awake and Hungry created an idea that the band were pushing the post-punk envelope, including more experimental, electronic and dance music influences. Three years on from that album, Down There! paints a portrait of a group that is struggling to develop the success of their early sound.
The electronic dance music influences remain, but they tend to lack optimism and intensity. For dedicated fans of that generic middle-class post-punk sound, this album offers as much as they could hope for, which is evidence of inherent quality. And as Down There! progresses there are hints at innovative new sounds and ideas on some tracks, but these only seem to occur sporadically, never appearing to reach their full potential. While Folly Group repeatedly demonstrate their clear musical skill and talent for creating tracks, the album as a whole feels somewhat disjointed. More of a disordered collection of songs rather than an album, the listening experience of Down There! is fairly forgettable.
The album offers some interesting ideas, and the odd tracks are fairly impressive, but generally, as a listener, you find yourself yearning for something more. Perhaps some more studio time or the advent of new musical influences would have helped the band to develop their existing sound to create something more mature and exciting. There is an overwhelming sense of wanting to like the record, indicative of a level of charm, but ultimately, the feeling instilled upon listening to Down There! is one of disappointment, like a date with someone you quite fancy, but there are too many red flags to ignore.
For Fans Of: drinking a swig of your mate’s Guinness while he’s at the toilet, even though you don’t even like Guinness.
A concluding comment from Tom’s mother: “My favourite song was ‘Big Ground’ because it was the shortest meaning I could get away from this rambling racket and back to Midsomer faster.”
Down There! track by track:
Release Date: 12 January | Producer: Folly Group | Label: So Young Records
‘Big Ground’ – An odd choice for an opening track, ‘Big Ground’ throws you into the deep end of Folly Group’s electronic-influenced post-punk, with the enthusiastic group singing contrasting with the monotonous tones of the song’s main narrator. You get a sense that the song is building towards something, but when that something arrives, it feels distinctly underwhelming – although it would presumably sound good in a live setting. [3/5]
‘I’ll Do What I Can’ – The second track on the album feels closer to punk-influenced indie rock than anything else; it is not a style that particularly suits Folly Group. The monotonous pseudo-American vocal style of Sean Harper starts to grate quite quickly, though he does make up for it with his drumming on this track. [2/5]
‘Bright Night’ – A slow, at times tedious plod through fairly unimpressive lyrics, the song features occasional musical breaks of intensity. These moments are ultimately not enough to make the track any less forgettable, unfortunately. [1/5]
‘East Flat Crows’ – For the first time on Down There!, Folly Group offers genuine promise. Although considerably more mellow than some of their other efforts, this track sees the band hint at a maturity within their sound with generally enjoyable results. [3.5/5]
‘Strange Neighbour’ – Inarguably the stand-out track on the album, ‘Strange Neighbour’ is as excellent as it is frustrating. The captivating sound and enjoyable vocal performance show what Folly Group are truly capable of: creating a fun, danceable and fresh-feeling song. It is only frustrating because they do not continue this feeling throughout the rest of the album. [4/5]
‘Freeze’ – Another initially mellow track that sees a commendable vocal performance that is let down by the lack of imagination within the musical backing. Like much of the album, it offers some interesting ideas, but they do not feel fully fleshed-out, relying heavily on an outdated Squid-esque post-punk sound. [2/5]
‘Pressure Pad’ – As Down There! progresses, it becomes ever confusing why Folly Group placed such a focus on their lyrics, in terms of the record’s mastering, when their strengths clearly lie within the music. ‘Pressure Pad’ is another pretty forgettable track which sounds distinctly like the efforts of a young band just starting out, not one on their third studio album. [1.5/5]
‘Nest’ – Folly Group assert their more experimental side on this track, but again, it seems as though the music is in conflict with the lyrics. The instrumental parts of this track are the most enjoyable aspects. The rest feels somewhat soulless and dull. [1/5]
‘New Feature’ – Demonstrating their apparent dedication to fleeting from one musical style and tempo to another within the same track, ‘New Feature’ begins with a sense of the band embracing their electronic and dance influences. However, it once again falls into the formulaic structure of most of the album tracks by offering the same ‘one moment it’s dance and the next it’s deep and meaningful’ atmosphere that tends to fall flat. [1/5]
‘Frame’ – A confused track that fails to fit in with the rest of the tracklist yet also fails to feel particularly fresh or interesting. Folly Group appear to be defiling the lifeless corpse of XTC on their album closer, with disappointingly banal results. [2/5]
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