''Manifest!'' is the only album from American band

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

, released in June 2012 on the

Fat Possum In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple e ...

label in the United States and on the Lucky Number label in Europe.

Recording and release

The album was recorded between Summer 2011 and Spring 2012 and produced by the band with the assistance of engineer Daniel Schlett at Strange Weather studios in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. The tracks were mixed by the band and Schlett with the exception of "Mind Control" which was mixed by the band and

Paul Epworth Paul Richard Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member o ...

.''Manifest!'' CD booklet, Lucky Number Records The album includes two tracks that were released as singles in 2011, "I'm His Girl" and "Friend Crush", as well as third single "Mind Control".Levine, Nick (2012)
Friends Manifest! Review
,

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, 1 June 2012, retrieved 30 August 2012 The album was released on June 4, 2012 outside the United States and on June 5 in the US. A limited special edition exclusive to Rough Trade stores in the UK included a second disc with five extra tracks.

Cover art

The album's cover art was designed by singer Samantha Urbani and Erez Avissar, and features a

stereoscopic image Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...

of the band.

Reception

Like several other reviewers, Michael Hann of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' commented on the album's "pick'n'mix approach to New York's musical history".Hann, Michael (2012)
Friends: Manifest! – review
, ''

'', 31 May 2012, retrieved 30 August 2012 The album was described in a review for the

by Nick Levine as "generally impressive". The album was positively received by the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', with Lisa Wright rating it 8/10 and describing it as "louche, cool, and wickedly and exuberantly playful".Wright, Lisa (2012)
Friends - 'Manifest!'
, ''

'', 1 June 2012, retrieved 30 August 2012

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer Tim Sendra gave the album a four stars out of five, calling it "a loose-limbed, dancefloor-filling jam with songs that are tropically inspired, sweet-spirited, and fun" and noted the "unusual and memorable" lyrics.Sendra, Tim (2012)
''Manifest!'' Review
,

, retrieved 30 August 2012 '' The List''s Jonny Ensall described ''Manifest!'' as an "insidiously hooky album".Ensall, Jonny (2012)
Friends - Manifest!
, '' The List'', 22 May 2012, retrieved 30 August 2012 Liz Pelly, writing in ''

The Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the ''Portland Phoenix'' a ...

'', called it "the best pop album of the summer".Pelly, Liz (2012)
Friends , Manifest!
, ''

Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the ''Portland Phoenix'' and ...

'', 3 July 2012, retrieved 30 August 2012 ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' gave it a 3.5 star rating.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Samatha Urbani, Oliver Duncan, Lesley Hann, Matthew Molnar, and Nikki Shapiro. ;Rough Trade bonus CD: #"Perpetual Crush" #"Feelin Dank" #"My Boo" #"I'm His Girl (Arthur Baker remix)" #"Friend Crush (Jake Bullit mix)"

Credits

Friends: *

Samantha Urbani Samantha Urbani ( ; born September 18, 1987) is an American singer, songwriter, visual artist, filmmaker and producer from Mystic, Connecticut. She formed Friends; after three years, a trio of singles, and the album ''Manifest!'' on Fat Possum re ...

*Oliver Duncan *Lesley Hann *Matthew Molnar *Nikki Shapiro with *Jessica Collins - vocals *Daniel Schlett - vocals, engineering

Chart positions

''Manifest!'' peaked at number 100 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

in June 2012.Friends
, Official Charts, retrieved 1 September 2012

References

{{Authority control 2012 debut albums Fat Possum Records albums Friends (American band) albums