NME released a teaser of their sit down interview with Friendly Fires today.

The indie stars used the interview to talk inspiration and tried to explain the new direction of their pop friendly LP Pala.

When asked whether he was concerned that this new shift in direction would lead the band to be taken less seriously Ed McFarlane replied:

“I’ve understood that kind of mindset. I’d much rather listen to a Justin Timberlake record than a Morrissey record with clever lyrics and tried and tested guitar tunes. It’s not what we’re about. And if that alienates us from the indie world, well good.”

During the interview the lead singer went on to site Missy Elliot, N*Sync and Bobby Brown as inspirations for the bands new sound. You can read the entire interview in this weeks NME.

Strictly Our Opinion: This is a typical NME sell tactic, but in this case it appears McFarlane is pretty brazen in his commentary and is not having his words taken out of context.Now, that being said, I find nothing shocking in what he says, Justin Timberlake is a credible artist and his last Timbaland produced record has proved very influential on singers from a wide variety of musical backgrounds.

Equally however, Morrissey last three record run has been quite excellent and despite a couple of misfires Years Of Refusal was one of Morrissey’s best and most interesting records.

So would I rather listen to the Morrissey influenced Smother by Wild Beasts or the Justin Timberlake influenced Pala by Friendly Fires? Why choose, they’re both enjoyable, and they’ve both turned their influences into something intriguing.

The real question is who’s the better dancer: Ed or Moz?