Special Friend – ‘Inertie’ from ‘Wait Until The Flames Come Rushing In’

In the past couple of years the Skep Wax label has quickly developed into the epitome of the artisanal independent foray into the decayed heart of the music industry. With a heart and soul soundly rooted in the, ah, DIY IndiePunk spirit of the 80s/90s boygirlrevolution, the label might sometimes feel like a piece of provocatively middle-class performative theatre, but is none the worse for that. The reissue of 1992 album ‘Le Jardin De Heavenly’ spotlighted those IndiePunk spirits and delighted old codgers and youthful, erm, ‘Cutie Punkers’ alike but it was the label’s releases by new artists that really caught the attention. Panic Pocket’s ‘Mad Half Hour’ album might have crept into this advent series if the field had been less marvellously congested, but the ‘Wait Until The Flames Come Rushing In’ set by label mates Special Friend just trumps it. At times it felt like there was a new ‘single’ coming out from Special Friend every other week, and with cuts like the tremendous ‘Bête’, ‘Selkie’ and ‘Fault Lines’ the French duo of Erica Ashleson and Guillame Siracusa were welcome regulars on the Unpopular mixes during much of 2023. Each of those tracks in their own way encapsulates the way that Special Friend blend influences from the likes of Broadcast, Pavement, Galaxie 500 and Mazzy Star into something that, whilst being audibly referential is nonetheless impressively individual. Perhaps best of all is the mesmerising mild motorik folk shimmy of ‘Inertie’. With the lustre of Mahogany and a Stereolab sheen, it is a delicate three and a half minute cycle of off-centre dreaming, a perfect punctuation pause for reflection in an album filled with treats. I’m excited to hear what Special Friend make next.