FM Belfast is an Icelandic electro-pop group that was founded in 2005. How to Make Friends is their debut album, originally released in 2008. After being one of the most talked-about bands all over Europe, due in no small part to their energetic and engaging live show, Reykjavik’s FM Belfast are set to release their debut album in the US. They became a must-see band at SXSW ‘09. The size of the group varies from performance to performance, with anywhere from three to eight members comprising FM Belfast at any given time, and includes Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason of the experimental electronic group múm.

They play non conventional electro-indie-pop, and you can hear shadows of LCD Soundsystem, Munk and Scissor Sisters, but there aren’t too many dance floor tracks. Their songs have a fun ’80s feel with a steady bass kick, and the nice balance between male and female vocals give great dynamics to their songs.

The record starts with a sticky post-disco track called “Frequency.” It sets the blueprint for the rest of the record, and makes a lot of the songs sound similar. The strongest track is “I Can Feel Love,” a Blondie-sounding jam with cowbells, handclaps and Moroder synths. They also take on 2 covers: “Pump”, a version of Technotronic’s “Pump Up the Jam” which they turn it into an ironic and cheap Casio muzak tune, and “Lotus,” a synth driven cover version of Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing in the Name” that sounds like a melancholic and slow Detroit techno burner. Except for a few fillers, How to Make Friends is a fun album, and they likely sound even better live.

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