Brighton’s Superfriends have been understatedly purveying their charming brand of poignant jangle rock for a good few years now, starting with 2018’s single ‘Iowa’ followed by 2019’s self-titled EP – a sweet and melodic set of songs enriched by flourishes of synth alongside guitarist/singer Harry Atkinson’s sprightly chord progressions. They’ve slowly but surely defined out a sound that touches on some familiar names while adding their own personalities and elements to the mix. With all this in mind, I would say that it is in no way a disservice to say that ‘How To Live Life’ is their best work yet.
The song opens with clean, springy guitar chording reminiscent of R.E.M’s Peter Buck, a guitarist often imitated but rarely in such a smile-inducing fashion as it is here. Then the rest of the song burbles into life with a warmth and energy, the rhythm section’s tightness and delightful contrapuntal bassline only serving to further complement the guitar’s chord progression. Atkinson’s friendly tenor is pushed slightly up in the mix and gives an element of intimacy and sadness to it all amongst the ostensibly playful instrumentation.
His lyrics draw you in with an almost conversational style before breaking your heart, and knowing that this song was conceived in the wake of his grandfather’s passing only heightens the emotional impact. Atkinson intones ‘I will try to do right by you’ in the choruses with an almost hitch in his voice that makes you want to give him a hug. But then, after an already great slice of jangle rock for the first four or so minutes, the song breaks into a slow, rolling outro, driving the material into new territory and serving as a more hopeful, rising-to-ones-feet moment with a refrain of ‘We will remember you’ overlaid with defiant shouts of the same line, almost shouting in the face of grief and emotional turmoil, to encourage the listener to keep going and try again in the face of life’s many battles.
This is an outstanding piece of work. Let’s all hope an album isn’t too far behind.
How To Live Life is out on Sunday 19th December. Pre-save it now here.
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