Folly Group, support: Dead Finks - Urban Spree, Berlin

Drawing from post-punk, dub, trip-hop, dance music and traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms, Folly Group have established themselves amongst UK experimental rock’s new leading lights. Marrying open-hearted lyricism with furiously inventive self-production, this bracing, complex record lends a genuinely original voice to a familiar theme: alienation in modern Britain. 

 Collaboratively self-produced by the full band, "Down There!" is thorough in its exploration of being a young adult in this country: covering mental health ("Bright Night"), physical health ("Freeze"), financial pressures ("East Flat Crows") turbulent friendships ("I’ll Do What I Can") and more. Its lyrics are split between drummer / vocalist Sean Harper and Milbern, who – despite their respectively more abstract and literal styles – deal with shared themes of “disenfranchisement, dejection, anxiety and financial ruin,” Harper explains. “For every personal step forward, an off-the-cuff decision by a politician we’ll never meet puts us two steps back – a lot of the time we’re basically furious.”

This is illustrated in the 3D cave network on the cover: it features 10 points, lifted from a map of the 10 most important places in London to the record’s creation. “They’re represented as a cave, as a visual metaphor for feeling under the weight of the world,” he continues.

The band tie many of these feelings to the realities of being a young musician, which they have to balance with full-time jobs. “We don’t have enough time to do this band, but we do it anyway. We make enormous sacrifices in areas of our lives, out of blind faith that we’re right to be doing this.” This underscores the feeling that "Down There!" is – despite its themes – a triumphant album. Its committed, meticulous creation and honest lyricism speak to the group’s shared self-belief and determination, against the odds this album details. “The mere fact that it exists is a victory.”

 Formed in 2019, the band comprises Harper, Milburn, Tom Doherty (bass), and Kai Akinde-Hummel (percussion, drums). Following the national lockdowns, they burst onto the UK scene with the BBC Radio 6 Music A-Listed singles "Butt No Rifle" and "Sandfight": the latter of which IDLES’ Joe Talbot declared his “favourite song of the year.” Heralded as ‘one to watch’ by NME, DIY and BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders, they released their acclaimed debut EP "Awake And Hungry" in 2021. 

This led to tours with Do Nothing and PVA, a Metronomy collaboration, and festivals including Latitude, Truck and Pitchfork Music Festival London. The band followed this with their explosive second EP "Human And Kind", featuring the BBC Radio 6 Music A-Listed single "I Raise You (The Price Of Your Head)". This led to a UK headline tour (including London’s Studio 9294), tour supports with the likes of Orlando Weeks, and festival appearances at Glastonbury, The Great Escape and SXSW.