Better As Friends is one of those rare records that represents perfectly crafted pop music: it is undoubtably polished enough to be commercially successful, and yet it has enough of an edge to it that I’m pulled in by its authenticity.
Eighty Ninety are an American duo comprised of brothers Abner and Harper James. Together they are focused on creating music that pulls together “storytelling, sticky melodies, and minimalist pop productions built on acoustic instruments and electronic sounds”. Adorably, they call this sound “808s and telecasters”, and with that, they have won my heart, because OF COURSE. I only wish I had thought of that first so it could be the strap-line for BlackPlastic.co.uk.
Having already achieved a #2 hit on the Spotify Global Viral Chart with their debut single, Three Thirty, Eighty Ninety can count Taylor Swift as a fan after the superstar added their single Your Favorite Song to her Spotify playlist, Songs Taylor Loves.
New single Better As Friends is about wanting to stay connected to someone you once loved but knowing that it might be less painful in the long run to just let them go. The song revolves around a killer chorus:
“How the fuck do we get so mixed up and here we are running in circles again. But once you tell someone that you know they’re the one and you love them, can you really be better as friends?”
The hushed falsetto vocal and production come together on Better As Friends to make something that takes my breath away… the way it opens with gentle keys underpinned with warm, bass and flecks of that Telecaster. There are little touches that really lift the production work here. The warm feel of the live bass sound, the way the filters apply to the make the bridge feel like it is lifting off, a tiny squeak hidden beneath the chorus that sounds like fingers sliding up the fretboard. Better As Friends introduces these various elements slowly, a little piece at a time, and the result builds just the way nagging emotions do… Before you know it, you’re lost in your feelings and you know they are the one.