Formed in 2009 and releasing their debut recording a year later, Fish on Friday return in 2023 with 8mm, their sixth studio album.
FoF are amongst my all-time favourite melodic progressive rock bands, and it is a source of deep mystery to me why this is the first time I have set their music to words in a formal review, especially as I own all their albums. Oh well, better late than never and I can always revisit past glories in the not-too-distant future.
The lineup on this album is Frank Van Bogaert on vocals, keys, and guitars; Nick Beggs, bass, Chapman Stick, and backing vocals; Marcus Weymaere drums & percussion; and Marty Townsend on guitars. Beggs’s daughter, Lulu, plays an increased role here on vocals, and there are appearances from Sofi Dykmans also on vocals, as well as the wonderful Theo Travis.
Each track on this album is perfectly written, performed, and produced. This is a band which simply make me feel good listening to their work, an essential trait in an increasingly disturbing world.
I am going to go out of order for this review and present a bit of a surprise. FoF have given us a cover on this album, and, what’s more, it is probably not the cover you would expect from them. Overture to Flame, and Flame itself were originally recorded by Metro, on their debut (and only) album released in 1977. Readers of this review will likely recognise from that album John Giblin on bass who has played with a plethora of stars including Gabriel, Bush, Brookes, Martyn & Collins, alongside the wonderful Simon Phillips on drums, so a rhythm section to die for.
Metro is best known for a later Bowie cover from this album, Criminal World. This was “controversial” in that it was banned on release by the BBC for its references to sexual content dealing with bisexuality. Those of my readers under the age of 40 will probably not realise that the dear old Beeb has not always been filled with “metropolitan liberal pinkoes” but was, back in the day, filled with hoary old conservative suited types who blanched at anything remotely yoof orientated or forward looking.
It fits perfectly within this album. The overture does what it says on the tin, an introduction to the main event, so the band engaging in an expansive collaboration, soaring keys, relentless rhythm section, and pretty guitar chords. Flame itself has Beggs stamped all over it, bass melodies the old masters such as Entwistle and Squire would have been proud of. Talking of the latter, there is a clear Yes alongside 70’s art rock influence on this song (and I was unaware of the original until researching for this review). FoF have made it their own and, quite honestly, if you had merely streamed this song by FoF you would not have known its origin at all, with Van Bogaert’s voice as mournful and tuneful as it has been since the first time I heard it, simply gorgeous and also capable of leading the line as it does coming into the final segment with throbbing synths and a guitar solo oozing feeling.
The album opens with the title track. 8mm film was the method by which families captured images of their loved ones walking through the park, playing football/netball, doing amateur pornography etc. before the rise of the ubiquitous phones and Apple machines. Plus ca change. The technology might change, but, dear people, the content and intent doesn’t. The song is a melodic dream, full of yearning for missed and missing memories, chasing ghosts forever. The instrumental midsection is suitably dramatic.
Collateral Damage opens with a funk filled groove. It builds into a sound filled chorus. The song is one of remembrance and fears for the future, the chorus talking of a relationship in fear, the guitar solo filled with feeling, and some high-end synths preceding a reprise of the chorus downplayed with the end of the protagonists’ discussions.
Jump This Wall is my personal favourite on the album, and a pretty clear winner for an award at the close of the year on my website. It was the first song the band revealed ahead of the album release, and the video is embedded below. Written by Van Bogaert & Dykmans, it should be a number one hit across the western world. This is the sound of a band in complete creative harmony, simple yet effective keys with a gorgeous bassline, drums pushing it along, with natural world guitars. It is a tale of lockdown, both virus and personal. When the main having a ball segment comes in over two minutes in, with the invitation to Frankie to “jump this wall”, you are in melodic heaven. Enjoy this if you haven’t heard it yet, a masterpiece not to be compared to any act other than Fish on Friday at their best. Just dig that smoky sax! Just dream over that flute! Just let the hairs on the back of your neck stand up over those vocal harmonies! Just wish over that closing acoustic guitar! Simply beautiful.
Don’t Lose Your Spirit follows. Wonderfully catchy and, I think, the sort of music Asia would have produced had they not lost their way somewhat after Alpha, you know that perfect harmony between progressive sensibilities and damned good pop music with a personal life message, all wrapped up in a song which highlights that crossover, the best of modern pop/rock. It is embedded below. The closing passage is moody and reflective.
Funerals is the longest track on the album, nearly eight minutes long. Esoteric have produced a video of this, and it is embedded below. That haunting guitar, bassline melodious, jazz infused percussion, the vocals dripping with emotion, synths pulsing, all the while the trademark wall of sound filling your senses, with some very clever changes in time and mood, at once reggae infused, then Latin dripping guitar, soaring synths, and more than a hint of Gilmour influenced Floydian sounds transposed into a modern environment, this is just about the best way those of you unfamiliar with the band’s work could be introduced to them.
Silently Raging has Lulu Beggs playing a leading vocal role alongside the male voice, and she shows her chops very well indeed, a thoughtful voice leading the charge against much of modern ills but set against music distinctly retrospective in nature.
Instillers has the type of drum machine, sampled voices, and general 1980’s vibe that will have some purists spitting into their coffee. I enjoy good pop music, and this is very commercial in its intent and execution, but it doesn’t quite work so well to these ears as much else here. I think it is a wee bit inconsistent, although the bass of Beggs is simply stunning.
A New Home reasserts the album for me, the opening beautiful brass orchestration especially moving. The female voice is evocative and the harmonies exceptional in a track which segues into a piece with Americana at its heart, slide guitar, vocal harmonies, and light rhythm section evoking the move to a new way of life, far from the trauma which preceded it.
The final, and shortest song is Life Is Like The Weather, a great title, a love song at its heart telling of changing moods as a relationship ebbs and flows, just like the weather. This is a nice folk infused song to finish with.
8mm is another strong release from Fish on Friday. I don’t think it will win them many new followers, but it will certainly please those who have been with them for several years now, so an album, I think, which consolidates their deserved position in the premier league of modern rock bands with progressive and commercial tendencies.