Friendly Foes

Born Radical

[3.5/5]

Friendly Foes concoct a stupidly fun brand of energetic indie rock with superb pop songwriting on their debut full-length, Born Radical. Thunderbirds Are Now! vocalist/guitarist Ryan Allen does frontman duty here, too, though in a decidedly less sassy manner. Vaguely recalling a tamer and less snide version of the Thermals circa Fuckin A, Friendly Foes deliver coed vocals and surprisingly versatile vibes while bustling with goodies like “Couch Surfing”’s bubbly chorus and Liz Wittman’s turn on “Get Ripped” where she sounds oddly similar to Be Your Own Pet’s Jemina Pearl. Really, Friendly Foes are just setting themselves up in one lyric’s prediction: “Maybe we’ll have some success/A decent review at best.” Well, here you go, guys (and girl). (GANGPLANK; gangplankrecords.com) Brian Shultz