After a seven-year hiatus, LA-based indie electronic project Friend Slash Lover has finally stepped back into the spotlight, and he’s done it with the brilliant new single, ‘Mugged on Memory Lane’. The title track from his upcoming concept EP, which is slated for release later this year, the new single is a stark, exploratory release that draws on feelings of displacement, disillusionment, and despondency while living in the City of Angels.
While LA has already provided infinite inspiration for artists and musicians alike, ‘Mugged on Memory Lane’ arrives as both a love letter to Hollywood, as well as a damning critique of the consumerism lurking behind Tinseltown. At times, funny, sarcastic and dark, it’s a single that resonates with character, serving up highs and lows, and lessons learned. Inspired by artists like David Bowie and Tears For Fears, everything about the new single is built to elicit emotion, hooking listeners with a nostalgic vibe and plenty of modern twists.
Speaking about the new single, Friend Slash Lover was keen to express his thoughts, stating, ”the opening lines sum it up: ‘I wish they’d stop making movies about the things I liked when I was young. First they stole our memories and now they’re trying to sell them back to us”. It's a sentiment that many of us can relate to, and as Friend Slash Lover unleashes lines like, “We all got mugged. They stole everything we used to love”, you can practically hear a generation rise.
According to Friend Slash Lover, the project began as an experiment to see if he could “create a buzz around an artist that didn’t really exist.” When a friend suggested he teach himself guitar, FSL “fell down a rabbit hole and never climbed out,” and he soon found an obsession with turning words and phrases into a “form of fine art.”
“I write quirky, thought-provoking phrases,” he continued, “Sometimes they get etched onto mirrors because they take on a new meaning when you look at your own reflection while reading them. Sometimes, they become t-shirts or stencils, and of course, many of them started to become song titles and lyrics. In my other career, I write taglines for movie posters. It’s basically the same skill: Distilling a big concept down into a few words.”
Available now on all major platforms, ‘Mugged on Memory Lane’ is nostalgic, insightful, and wonderfully expressive, and if Friend Slash Lover can tap into the same sense of catharsis for the rest of his EP, then his return will have been well worth the wait.
Check out the new song above via Spotify and be sure to follow Friend Slash Love on his social media pages below so you never miss a release.
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