Album Review: A Beginner's Guide by Making Friends

Since London/Brighton skate punks FastFade split in 2019, lead singer and guitarist Ryan Mansell has been a very busy man. Not only did he start emo punks Maisonette, who have a new EP due to be released on INiiT Records in the future, he also formed a new skate punk band named Making Friends. Back in May the four piece, which also features Daniel Farrell, Bill Laken and Pete Thomas, released a second EP titled A Beginner’s Guide. Unsurprisingly, the EP’s four songs clock in at just eight and a half minutes so expect some fast and short songs ahead. For me, that’s how I enjoy my skate punk so I’m quite looking forward to listening to this.

The EP starts with Goodbye Forever. The song starts how you might expect a skate punk song to start – there is a pounding drumbeat driving the song forward and a technical guitar riff that really catches your ear. When Ryan’s vocals come in the music drops out, I really liked this as it made me really listen to what was being said. From there the song continues along the traditional skate punk route. Ryan’s vocals feel urgent and are backed by some great harmonies. I loved the switch towards the end of the song when Goodbye Forever jumps into a moody emo style. I didn’t see it coming and it’s a fantastic surprise. The second track is titled Happy Complaint. This track starts out slower than the previous one with a bass line opening proceedings before being joined by the rest of the band. The drums in particular give the song a high tempo feel but the vocals contrast this brilliantly with a more melodic style that again really catches your attention. Midway through the song a great guitar solo comes in to give the song an extra dimension before the song finishes in a more urgent fashion.

Early Grave is a bit of a throwback to Ryan’s previous work with FastFade. There’s that big Captain Everything influence in the guitars and it feels as if Making Friends have really raised the tempo. The track is about trying to run away and escape your problems, something we’ve all wanted to do at some point. It’s great to hear a band like Making Friends who are in their early twenties tackle mental health in a song. The song has a brilliant feeling of catharsis during the finale with a big sing-along of “why should I pick up the pieces, when I could just run away, can I take these useless feelings, with me to my early grave.” The final song on A Beginner’s Guide is titled Ant. The song is not even ninety seconds long but seems to pack a huge amount into it. The tempo and melodies are all over the place on the song, continually keeping you guessing what’s next? I feel like a song like this just shouldn’t work but Making Friends have impressively made it work. Ant is about having a friend who brings you down and stepping away from that relationship.

What I really loved about this EP was how fresh it sounds. Making Friends take the skate punk genre and breathe new life into it with a variety of styles and influences. Big things are clearly on the horizon for the band.

Stream and download A Beginner's Guide on Bandcamp here.

Like Making Friends on Facebook here.

This review was written by Colin Clark.