GENTLE FRIENDLY are two friends, David Morris and Daniel Boyle, from South London who pursue the boundaries of pop and noise with the aid of drums, keyboards, vocals and samples. Gentle Friendly's sound is truly ambitious, unafraid to pitch their brasher prism punk against delicate vocal melodies and softer electronic textures.

Over the last two years the duo have developed a reputation for their potent live shows, holding their own alongside artists such as Ponytail, NO AGE and Health amongst others. They've also spent this time perfecting their technique of home recording, which has so far seen them release a cassette tape collection of early material and last year's well-received 'Night Tape' EP on the label No Pain In Pop.

'Ride Slow'

R.I.P Static | Clean Breaker

UTR031 | Digipack CD / LP | 15 tracks, 35 mins | November 2009

Using a wide palette of sound that successfully captures the intensity of their live performance, Gentle Friendly have just completed their debut album. 'Ride Slow' is an adventurous record, which surpasses the band's lo-fi origins and demonstrates an uplifting emotional range.

Thematically a fatalist document, 'Ride Slow' records snapshots of feeling, of conversation, which overlap and phase through different songs. While their self-acknowledged influences (Arthur Russell, Bruce Springsteen, Top 40 hip-hop) are detectable, this album showcases Gentle Friendly as a band who have found their own language, drawing on nostalgia and ritual in equal measure, whilst continuing the tradition of English eccentricity and popular song.

'Ride Slow' works exceptionally well as a continuous piece of music, the band choosing to work with London producer Twins to mix the album through its rounds of echo drench and repetitive rapture. The record glides seamlessly between songs of euphoric warmth to broken stammering rhythms to crushing walls of atmosphere.

Tracks like "Real Fighters", "Sleng Teng" and "Clean Breaker" burst with energy, careering along with thunderous intent, in stark contrast to the album's more reflective moments like the dreamy "Lover's Rock" and the ambient wash and vocal cycling of "R.I.P. Static".

Identifiable lyrics have an honesty and directness, and even when the music swells become formidable, the clarity of thought never gets buried. 'Ride Slow' is an album about secrets and consequences, about breaking points and endless horizons of possibility. It is their ability to communicate the obscured - to hold a torch up to illuminate the wilderness - that makes Gentle Friendly such an interesting band and 'Ride Slow' such a compelling record.