by Brooke and aura
I’m sorry, did you know that a song could give you the same tummy-tingling effect as the drop on a rollercoaster?
We sure didn’t. But that was the reward we got for taking Friday Pilots Club at their word when they followed up the release of January’s titillating and addictive single ‘Vampire Disco’ with “if u love vampire disco, chances are you will also love the rest of the album”. There’s still two and a half months until the American band drops their debut album Nowhere on May 9, but they have just released a second single, ‘Spectator’ (released February 22) and shit, if this one is any indication, they may actually be underselling it on that promise. Consider our appetites thoroughly whet-ed for the main course!
Starting with compelling bass, ‘Spectator’ features sexy, velvety vocals that remind Aura very much of a young Alex Turner making everyone swoon while crooning “I wanna be your vacuum cleaner”. The tune develops into an exquisite display of alternative sound, where new wave and synth rock meets indie rock flawlessly. Catchy guitars and harmonies walk you willingly into the thinky snare at the heart of the tune.
“In the wake of major changes in our lives we must choose whether we will go on experiencing things from the driver’s seat or safely spectating life from somewhere outside of ourselves,” vocalist Caleb explained in a release shared by the band. “This song is an ode to that choice and embodies the vision and sonics of the upcoming album.”
Friday Pilots Club have amassed tens of millions of Spotify streams on music stretching back to 2017. Frankly, we can’t believe that neither of us have come across them before. But we’re sure glad we’re in now ! And, as it turns out, it’s a great time to be joining the club. “If it was me pulling all the strings, we would have made an album five years ago and it would have probably been pretty bad,” said Caleb. “We’ve now arrived at a point where we recognized, this is what Friday Pilots Club sounds like.”
The guys have have traveled a long road, in and out of what they have described as a creatively stifling and restrictive major-label deal, and more recently spent a month at a remote cabin in the state of Georgia finishing the album (where all but one of them promptly caught COVID).
“Sometimes you end up at this place that’s not exactly what you thought it was gonna be,” said bassist Drew, explaining that he’d been trying to figure out why Nowhere felt right to him as the album title. “We all had this idea of what Friday Pilots Club was, is and will be, and it’s not that. We all thought going to Georgia was gonna go a certain way, and it didn’t which makes you feel like you’ve ended up nowhere. But we realized ‘nowhere’ is actually a place you can live in, in that it’s maybe not the destination you wanted, but it’s the destination you’re at. There’s beauty in that somewhere.”
Indeed, it seems as though there’s going to be plenty of beauty in this chapter. “Guys what the fuck is happening we’ve never had a song stream like this” the band shared on X in January, when the streams for ‘Vampire Disco’ smashed through the 100,000 mark two days after it was released.
Now here we are, two singles in to our Friday Pilots Club journey, counting down to May 9 like children awaiting Christmas. And “eager” is also not a strong enough word for how attentively Brooke is waiting for word about North American tour dates. For now, if you’re in the Atlanta or Chicago areas, here’s when you can catch the band:
- May 4 – Shaky Knees Festival – Atlanta, GA
- May 10 – Album release at Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL
Update March 5
Friday Pilots Club are among the latest wave of artists announced for Brighton’s Great Escape 2024. Get in on it.
Update March 8
EU and UK friends, Friday Pilots Club are headed your way in May! Tickets went on sale today. Don’t sleep on ’em. Get yours!
Indie Dependent 
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