No one denies the Real Friends big name in the modern pop punk scene today. The sad image has been very synonymous with them. They have successfully built a strong inner bond with each of their addicted fans with emotional lyrics and even tends to be overly sad. Undoubtedly, they have mastered the art of being sad, with a potentially memorable gimmick of all time, bony knees and sleepy eyes.
Their first album, Maybe This Place .. has led them to a new, very stable base for footing. Despite the mixed response, it does not matter to Real Friends. Their fan base continues to grow even more and more each day, even arguably the band is one of the most popular bands of pop punk scena lately. In 2016, Real Friends released their second album titled The Home Inside My Head which they released through a label that also released Maybe This Place .., Fearless Records.
Listening to their first single "Colder Quicker" raises optimism about their second album. After their disappointingly disappointing debut album, Real Friends answered the doubt with a song that I think has all the characteristics that Real Friends need to introduce their new album. This is the perfect song to silence all the criticisms directed against them after Maybe This Place .., this song has a sweet hook that is supported by Dan Lambton's sound, although very rough but has a timbre whose quality can be equated with Dan's 'Soupy' vocals, vocalist of The Wonder Years.
I think a comparison with The Starting Line is inevitable. Since the first song "Stay In One Place" is played, we can immediately find a little equation between Dan Lambton and Kenny Vasoli. The two voices both present an honesty and sound very charming. Lambton is growing in his role as a reliable frontman. Lambton also wrote some lyrics on this album, the song "Colder Quicker" is a testimony of his writing skills and I think the song is the best song on this album.
They are also like learning from their experience on previous albums, the opening three songs of this album is a row of songs that attract attention with fast paced, pop punk feels, and anthemic chorus. These three songs remind us all that Real Friends is the one who wrote a fantastic EP titled Put Yourself Back Together. I myself love the riffs on the interlude part of the song "Keep Lying To Me", the part is potentially big and will definitely present an interesting hubbub when played live.
While "Empty Picture Frames" is typical of a very light summer clock with the mindset of a bang vocal alley in the chorus. I think we need to give credit to Mike Green as producer and co-writer of this song. Mike Green who once dealt with Paramore on the All We Know Is Falling album is like knowing what Real Friends need for their album without sounding pretentious. In addition to "Empty Picture Frames", Mike Green also co-wrote "Mess" and "Colder Quicker".
Although the aspect of their musicality can not be forgotten, it is undeniable that what makes Real Friends so personal for each of their fans is the lyrics they write. It's refreshing when we do not have to listen to every word that Kyle Fasel writes because in this album Dan Lambton also contributed lyrics to some songs like "Colder Quicker", "Stay in One Place", "Isolating Everything" and "Eastwick". This is important because it must be admitted the lyrics that Kyle Fasel wrote often make me frown, as if the lyrics were written by the most unfortunate people of the world, too much and cringey.
But the appreciation is worthy of Kyle Fasel, we can see a progress from the previous Real Friends album in terms of writing lyrics. Although there is still a section that invites the expression "What the hell?" As in "It's just sad, oh it's sad that you do not even care at all" or "I'm a rain cloud!" And the sun is shining right through me " , Kyle also wrote some very spot lyrics like in the song "Basement Stairs".
A little funny when Kyle Fasel is parodying himself in the song "Mokena", recorded in the lyrics section "I'm writing the same song over and over again" had made me laugh, maybe on the other side Kyle also had a laugh when reading this lyric . Oh yes writing Dan Lambton is also not without flaws, some lyrics that he wrote, "I live in the middle of a lake / I do not know how to swim" I think quite cringe. But let's agree to let it be a while.
The album has some catchy tracks, such as "Colder Quicker", "Mess", and "Basement Stairs", but it is unavoidable that this album does not represent the best of what Real Friends can do. Some songs can not be heard, songs like "Scared to Be Alone" and "Mokena" are two songs that I think should be skipped only. The song is easy to forget and to be honest, I immediately lost my mood when listening to the first verse of both songs. Though "Mokena" has an interesting thing in the post-chorus, it's just that the initial perception was already damaging my view of this song. They sound like they're pushing something to succeed on the part that unfortunately backfires.
Compared to Maybe This Place .., clearly The Home Inside My Head is a development for them. This album can be enjoyed, although not impressive and seemed mixed just like that. They also seem less brave to explore deeper into their music, so there is nothing that can attract me to return. Real Friends also still wallow in a bad poetry circle, some of their lyrics sound personal, but I do not like the delivery they serve because it seems coercive.
However, it must be admitted that the song "Colder Quicker" has a mainstream appeal that is able to attract lay listeners to listen to this song. Beyond that, I think the comparison with The Starting Line is fair enough, they both have fantastic lead singles but in outline, the entire contents of the album is not too stunning.