Former Friends of Young Americans

FFOYA's newest album "dives like a fool, swims like the dead" was written and recorded by founding member Robert Tobias and poet/multi-instrumentalist Amanda Jane between the spring of 2012 and summer of 2013. An homage to late friends and the love of life, the album soars from lyrical and folksy ballads to guitar-driven indie rock, sensuous jazz to complex sample-heavy compositions and back again. Lyrically, it spans from chronicles of childhood in “Sea and the Land” to the angst and grief of “Whore,” from the mythological parallels of “Moirae” to the indictment of religious zealousness that is “Faith-Based Fear.”

FFOYA’s sound, though rooted in punk and new wave, uses broad sweeps and orchestral movements reminiscent of Brian Wilson while drawing upon the influence of 80s innovators such as The Cure, Cocteau Twins and The Jesus & Mary Chain. Phoenix’s pre-eminent slowcore/shoegaze band, FFOYA has been likened to My Bloody Valentine and War Paint. Through the innovative use of an array of organic and electronic instruments, the band has lifted that sound to the next level, crossing genres and blending influences to create an atmospheric, ambient pop sound that has drawn praise from fans of the modern, mellow movement (Broken Social Scene, The Books, Pinback, Beach House, Blonde Redhead, M83, Explosions In The Sky, Low, Apollo Brown, The XX).

Band Members:
Amanda Jane is a poet, journalist and multi-instrumentalist. Robert Tobias is a song-writer, recording engineer and multi-instrumentalist.

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