Eliza and the Bear :: "Friends"

Fists raised against an obfuscated enemy, youth in the vagaries of revolt, Eliza and the Bear continue to craft their everything-is-happening-all-the-time pop on latest single, "Friends". The shout-along vocal refrain, "I've got friends, I've got family here," is both reassurance and battle cry, a protective outrage and a communal love in the same breath. The high-fret guitar works adds an element of drama as the band storms through a taut little arrangement, like being dropped into the second-half of a song from the first Arcade Fire record. Eliza and the Bear are poppier by a large margin, an ebullient horn continuing to announce their arrival, for it is only a matter of time before these songs seemingly about everything are seemingly everywhere.