"I felt like I was part of something" a thread for Real Lies

i voted for real lies, it spoke to the crushing sense of notalgia that was my 2020. also made me think of the beloved, who i also love in the same slightly-embarrassed-by-it kind of way

*

I’m a bit embarrassed how deeply “Boss Trick'' got its hooks in; it did absolutely nothing for me on first blush but now I’ve played it forty times if I’ve played it once and I am afraid I’m likely to listen to it another hundred in the coming year. I’m amused but unsurprised that this hooked you Dan; keep fucking around with Real Lies and they’ll definitely getcha!

There’s just something about the blend of the warm and rummy bassline, the breathy vocals, the canned drums, the piano motif, the disarmingly rich electrostrings and that sample OH THAT SAMPLE; it’s all unmistakably, immensely corny but somehow evokes genuine **Ff3eeee1llzzz** “Clubby PM Dawn” is a very good description imo.

*

The first Real Lies album, which I love a lot, is more like East 17 than anything else I can put my finger on.

They remind me of The Tough Alliance a lot though: immaculate hooks over synth-pop, swaggering and menacing delivery but celebratory joyous lyrics. I think TTA practice situationalism as a means of political escape in an idealised way, but for RL it manifests in the fleeting joy of nightlife and club culture.

They also make me think of Saint Etienne's first two albums - stylistically different of course, but both at a point in their careers where their music sounds tied to the city, and borne out of the thrill of the joy of pop itself, all samples and ambition.

I really love this band, I would have started a thread on them if I had had any inkling that ILM wouldn't hate it.

*

apparently real lies once described their sound as 'dj sprinkles meets oasis' lmao

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQOfS-x6mqc

and rather fortuitously they've released a new song this weekend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAvWmDP-Xtk

Oh wow why have I not heard these before?

i have nothing but warm feelings for these lads, even they make me cringe a bit (hello new song!)

i did enjoy their version of 'a raint night in soho' last year, they pretty much turned the pogues into a bark psychosis song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQQr4t72aVg

I feel like the cringe is part of the appeal: the way they skirt the boundary between lad swagger and earnestness, it feels disarmingly sincere

it's a weird kind of selling point, but yes - that!

I'm not an expert in these matters, but should thread be called "a mix between DJ Sprinkles and PM Dawn with the swagger of Oasis" (or something like that)?

I really missed a trick there eh

yeah boss trick is a ten, I love how it’s a tribute to the third guy who left the group, real earnest bromance vibes

Gorgeous merchandise that I'm vaguely tempted by: https://real-lies.bandcamp.com/merch/forza-rl-bliss-to-be-alive-scarves

As mentioned upthread, love the Ea(rne)st 17-ness of these guys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12GveMzGUSg

another new one, getting a very strong sense of how the new album is going to sound when it finally arrives

Love “Late Arcades”. Though I think “Nicotine Patch” may be my favourite of the recent material.

Love the female/male vocal interplay on:

What you gonna use those sore lips for?
Making vows, breaking laws
Constant craving, settling scores
Football pools and cellar doors
Late enough to break
Stay cool son, ache, ache, ache, ache
Hold it inside
With all the reasons why

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du8HPKqHZcI

I love this group

going to see them live tonight after it was postponed three (!) times and I am too excited

Ever since discovering this group, I've become more and more obsessed with them

these guys are wonderful.

"late arcades" is just >>>>>>

okay late arcades is outstanding

why didn’t anybody tell me about this band???

i found out about them in the 2020 ilx top tracks rollout i think? they were like 52 or something

this album has the potential to rule my winter if it comes out soon ish.

also i need the "bliss to be alive" shirt

the sweetest thing I’ve ever known

"since i" is a freaking anthem

It’s about late-night people living in a world that doesn’t want them. It’s about ecstatic taxi rides, drawn curtains, Bluetooth speakers and the sudden pull of strangers. It’s about burying yourself in words and warm bodies in an endless search for the right ones. It was ushered into the world by our friend Tom Watson and finished off by us, with the help of Tom Demac. It’s the next song from our new album and it’s for all of you.
lyrics
They tore the tongue from the town
Had the nerve to shed tears for the underground
Still need somewhere to come up now the club’s shut down
Aha, ha!
My heart lifts off the backseat, joins the bedtime birds
Numbers rule my life but I’m a man of words
But round her it surges like I can’t describe
Sin, sin, since I

Since I heard your name
I’ve been coming alive
The lines of your fingers
Can we head to mine?
Since I

Sin, sin, since I
Left you late
At Sunday light

It’s a city changing
A shadow play of what it was

It’s a different type of hedonist that wears the crown
Rave echoes are the currency in shutdown town
A sadlad reminiscence with the SoundCloud out
Aha, ha
I’m a caller you can count on in the fading light
I’m a counter you can call on in the dead of night
Young yearning, burning earnings
When the time is right
Since I

Sin, sin, since I

The roads are on surge but the urge has spoken
As one door shuts, another opens
Least till tomorrow when the spell is broken
Aha, ha…

If I were you, I’d forget about that day
Memory fades when you’ve let yourself down
Promises made in a cab, they fade
Well, where are the people who care for you now?
Summer sensoria, unite the euphoria
Get back on the chase and you’ll never come down
Daylight deceit makes you feel complete
Well, this is for someone who never slows down…

Since I

The sight of your shoulders
Laid by my side
Sin, sin, since I

We dreamt a dream of this town
In between the offie and the eider down
Can you hack another bag if you’re coming round?
Aha, ha!
Can you hear that banging bassline through your bedroom wall?
You shut down our clubs then six of us moved in next door
Least you can tell me now how you sleep at night
Sin, sin, since I

going to see them live tonight after it was postponed three (!) times and I am too excited

how were they? I see they're playing here in a couple of days.

I wouldn't want to spoil it but yes you should definitely go see them, they were excellent, the performance was full of surprises and everything was suitably banging, I think the next album is going to be the Saint Etienne/Burial/East 17 hybrid of my dreams based on the new material

fuck this stuff is good

It’s about late-night people living in a world that doesn’t want them. It’s about ecstatic taxi rides, drawn curtains, Bluetooth speakers and the sudden pull of strangers. It’s about burying yourself in words and warm bodies in an endless search for the right ones.

this is otm but also describes every Real Lies song?

Both "Since I" are "Your Guiding Hand" are fantastic.

I was just Googling around looking for news about their second album and Juno has the track-listing, artwork and even previews up. Haven't seen anything announced officially anywhere yet so I'm not sure what the deal is. According to Juno the album is called Lad Ash and comes out on April 22nd.

https://www.junodownload.com/products/real-lies-lad-ash/5393660-02/

My most anticipated album of the year at this point.

it's not unusual for retailers to accidentally post listings for albums before they're announced, lots of stuff gets leaked out that way.

going through their run of singles over the last few years & "late arcades" is so good, glad that's on the album since not everything is.

Theyve announced another show in Glasgow, it doesn't seem to be a "tour" but the date makes sense around this schedule for release

I’m gonna pretend that them leaving off their best song is some kind of 80s throwback strategy,

Genre: "breakbeat"

what I really want is a bonus disc of the "UNREAL" mixes of the singles.

they played Oh Me Oh My (Nicotine Patch) at their show so it's not like they've disowned it.

Yeah I guess that’s my point, the song even has the feel of a single that sits outside of the album it is adjacent to

lad ash is happening

The questions you've been asking for so long have finally found their answer. 10AM tomorrow 🕊 https://t.co/hUPal9RWEB

— Real Lies (@_real_lies) February 8, 2022

FINALLY

I'm hoping it's the same release date that Juno had (April 22nd) as that's quite soon, but I also have my fingers crossed that the track-listing wasn't quite correct and Oh Me Oh My is on the album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv9-l613aSM

https://real-lies.bandcamp.com/album/lad-ash

juno listing was accurate

new song is a vibe

Brilliant news!

Vinyl apparently includes bonus tracks never seen on vinyl before.

some dates:

We've also added new dates to our 2022 tour. Come see us if you like, all ticket links below...

1 April - Manchester, White Hotel
23 April - Rotterdam, Motel Mozaique
28 April - London, Pickle Factory - SOLD OUT
30 April - Glasgow, Nice N Sleazy
28 May – Copenhagen, VEGA
6 Oct - London, Heaven
28 Oct - Leeds, Belgrave Music Hall
29 Oct - Nottingham, Bodega
18 Nov - Dublin, Grand Social
26 Nov - Brighton, Patterns

no spoilers but the live show when I saw them was full of charming surprises as well as being made of complete bangers and I can't wait to see them again

yes to all that, and the gig i saw was very in keeping with the spirit of their music - something very ingenuous and sincere about the whole thing, maybe its just the times we've been through but it was a genuinely emotional experience

massive rabbits – with a vital message https://t.co/ITyxrltlQc pic.twitter.com/36mxex0Cre

— Real Lies (@_real_lies) March 10, 2022

If anyone is interested Real Lies have a very lengthy Spotify playlist called “Bliss to be Alive” and it’s an absolute trove of goodies

Updated every fortnight too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cocmk9Hdor4

hell yeah

really enjoying this, Underworld seems an obvious reference to me but don't see it mentioned

vocals and the ~pretentious~ flourishes give me coloma's finery vibes

Underworld meets East 17 is how I usually describe them to friends yes xp

I say usually, to the 3 friends I've mentioned them, that's how i described them

surprised no one has mentioned Disco Inferno in reference to these guys

oh totally, I'm surprised I haven't said that yet

I peg the new one as “Two Months Off” meets “Weak Become Heroes”. Pretty much all their songs sound a bit like that but this one really does.

underworld was the immediate, obvious comparison point when i first heard of them

disco inferno makes a lot of sense too, very similar spoken word vibe

Underworld, The Streets, Pet Shop Boys yes but going further back may I also mention The Beloved? All of whom I love. East 17 may be pushing it though!

talking of things that sound like real lies, i ventured into spotify's real lies artist radio today to see what the algorhithm would throw up and there seem to be quite few newish uk acts who have the same sort of thing going on but - and i'm not going to name names here cos everyone likes their own thing - but a lot of them seemed pretty dreadful to me. maybe its cos i havent had the chance to develop the same emotional connection to them, but they just gave me deep cringe. with real lies theres a sense of willingly giving yourself up to some sort of starry-eyed vision of the future and the past and the here and now and the hope and the loss and all that stuff, in a music sense and in actual lived life, but while listening to failed attempts at this sort of appeal to a romantic camaraderie i realised what a fine line they tread. fuck, i'm rambling here, friday night cans and a work-broken brain

yeah their ability to be convincing about what they're doing - which i would say is to find that moment in everyone's life where they feel the most alive, then mourn for it, thereby creating a sense of hope for its renewal - is pretty singular. getting off balance in any way is treacherous. i feel like sometimes they come close, i.e. in the emotional climax of "late arcades", but then they always pull back with grace.

Underworld meets East 17 is perfect haha

fantastic album

happy lad ash day!

ah the vinyl is going to have the singles that didn't make the album as bonus tracks on the final side:

Ethos
Boss Trick
An Oral History Of My First Kiss
Dream On

Late Arcades
Thameslink Tryst
Dolphin Junction
All Good Dogs

Since I
The Carousel
Your Guiding Hand
DiCaprio

You Were In Love
I Wander
Oh Me, Oh My (Nicotine Patch)
Birds

this came together really well. sounds like these guys have been through the ringer with some very harsh set backs to get this thing over the line. they deserve some good press.

i bought the vinyl, estimated arrival time...jan 2023!! got damn

Incredible album. I pre-ordered the vinyl too. Something to look forward to next year I guess.

This album reads to me like a wistful midpoint between Underworld and Fluke and I really, really dig it

holy fucking shit

'Dream On' is killing me atm

"Late Arcades" still rules so hard

This is so good.

An original sentence was "How many layers of irony do you need to navigate to include a track called 'Thameslink Tryst' ffs?" but after navigating "Thameslink Tryst feels like actually offering out Burial live on air", I think I'll go with "I love you for including a track called Thameslink Tryst".

album feels like hearing last exit for the first time again

Yes! There was one track towards the end that was a dead ringer for Junior Boys. I wasn't that hot on "Dream On" as a single but it flows very well in the album

lol ya i buy this as second incarnation of last exit on some level, the cringe being a critical element (saying this as an unabashed last exit stan).

the stuff i like most here is pulling the thread of Three Words by way of Summer's Last Sound. Dolphin Junction is a current highlight.

i was curious about their live sound too and found this set from lockdown. it sounds great! better than i expected for some reason: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGhAB7ibGi0

oh no that don’t have a dude that sings like the junior boys guy now do they?

(Haven’t heard the album yet)

"The Carousel" is the one I was thinking of: very Junior Boys sounding, and yes it has singing, not sure who's doing it

I missed a lot of the lead-up songs to this album so I'm only just realizing how amazing "Your Guiding Hand" is, it's buried near the end. overall, an incredible album

Really enjoyed first listen of the album with 'An Oral History...' and 'Dolphin Junction' standing out a little but solid all through. Worth the wait.

there are lots of highlights in the back half, i don’t really feel like anything is buried

Yeah wrong choice of words on my part. I mean to say I was so taken with the front half on the first couple listens that I didn't pay as much attention to the back half, which is also quite good

no doubt, it’s all great, i do think that my favorite not
-single moments are on the back half, like “dolphin junction” and “your guiding hand.” “dicaprio” is pretty good too, love how it transitions from compelling cool down to m83-style bombast

fairly certain DiCaprio lifts this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1GieXvZuq4

I deliberately mostly avoided the singles to wait for the album, so this is hitting me all at once. Amazing album.

It's hard to put into words just how much I love the moment when the beat kicks in on Dream On. It makes me so happy.

Also really obsessed with An Oral History Of My First Kiss, especially the backing vocals which give me Steal My Sunshine vibes.

Perfect album. Probably my favourite of the decade so far.

talking of things that sound like real lies, i ventured into spotify's real lies artist radio today to see what the algorhithm would throw up and there seem to be quite few newish uk acts who have the same sort of thing going on but - and i'm not going to name names here cos everyone likes their own thing - but a lot of them seemed pretty dreadful to me.

I've always wondered whether there's a sprinkling of personal algorithms in those artist radios because my Real Lies one is pretty decent although filled with stuff I already listen to like Charlotte Adigery, Bullion, Hard Feelings, Anz, Joy Orbison etc

I had the opposite experience - after this album it played Flaurese, St Jude, Lawrence Hart, HAAi, Nabihah Iqbal, Working Mens Club - all good to great.

That Nabibah Iqbal song is so good if it's the one I think it is

I'm obsessed with An Oral History Of My First Kiss, too, and with DeCaprio, in particular "Do you remember? That second Nessun Dorma summer..."

I'm a bit disappointed to see this hasn't been reviewed many places yet. It deserves a lot more coverage.

If anyone wants to commission me please do, I have a LOT of feelings about this album

did the guy burn some bridges working in editorial? bad pr team? unlikeable people? all the above? genuinely surprised at this getting so little coverage

“I felt like I was part of something” pic.twitter.com/VCmWchV69I

— Real Lies (@_real_lies) April 27, 2022

it's kind of confusing bc p4k gave an early single from 2014 bnm and then didn't even review the first album

it looks like lad ash was just self-released though so that + it's been 7 years since their debut, which didn't really do well enough to get them much of a critical following or anything, means i guess it's pretty easy for them to fall through the gaps

I think as well that their style of music is so untrendy right now in a lot of ways - yes, they're drawing from dance music and its culture, but it's not the "cool" end, it's big-room Underworld-style sounds of yesteryear. The laddishness could have put them in that thread of naff UK bands with "swagger of Oasis" and it's easy to mistake that lack of finesse and polish for deliberate machismo posturing if you're not paying close attention. The disarming sincerity and vulnerability is at odds with the artfulness of a lot of contemporary indie too. I think the reason they stand out is that they feel so singular and unique in what they do, as much as they excel at what they're aiming for. But that's what makes them a difficult proposition to sell - there's not really any major current trends they align with.

I would definitely have pitched a review if I still wrote for p4k.

I agree with boxedjoy's take above, though would perhaps say (not that this contradicts boxedjoy's point) that maybe part of the problem is that, if you're not paying attention, they can be boxed too easily as "West End Girls" as produced by Underworld (or some variant or equivalent) - not so much "I don't get it" as "I get it too easily and there's nothing more there to get, to grapple with". I doubt many if any people find them either perplexing or hateful, but I could imagine a lot of shrugged shoulders and "why should I care?"

Or to put it more simply, I am surprised that there is no post above, perhaps from imago (or turrican if they were still around?) dismissing Real Lies as pleasant but ultimately unimaginative, derivative music for norms.

"You Guiding Hand" was excellent as a standalone single but it works even better in the context of the album, the pummelling kickdrum section (vaguely reminiscent of "Born Slippy") is like a final blast of ravey euphoria before the album winds down.

I think as well that their style of music is so untrendy right now in a lot of ways

an obvious comparison as far as recent acts go is for those i love, who's gotten a fair bit of attention & acclaim in the uk press lately doing a pretty similar spoken-word-over-moody-dance-music thing but he's really nowhere near as compelling as real lies

real lies obviously aren't innovating but they've distilled down their influences really really well, captured that melancholic uk late night vibe as well as anyone ever has. the album's pretty wide-ranging too within that vibe

think the lack of backlash so far is partly because they have pretty much no hype in the press or anything

the one For Those I Love track I've heard was terrible, the example of how to do this sort of thing really badly

yeah i did not get the hype there at all

Can't remember the last time I played an album as much as I have this one in the last week. Got tickets to see them in November and can't wait

They're a lot of fun live - saw them in Salford a few weeks back and while they were hampered by technical glitches, once those were fixed it was really good. Guest vocalists and dancers!

Concur with all the praise for the album, the new tracks easily stand up to the previously released tracks.

seeing them tomorrow for the second time in six months, even more excited because I know what to expect (and this time insisting on pals coming rather than going alone)

have fun boxedjoy, hope you have a beautiful night out!

Lad Ash has crashed into the Official UK Album (Downloads) Chart Top 100 at #85!!! (which probably equates to about 40 actual purchases)

Plus: an actual review! Great stuff from tQ: https://thequietus.com/articles/31453-real-lies-lad-ash-review

that's a nice review

Looks like it will be amazing boxedjoy xps

Still coming down from @_real_lies last night 🌹 🕊 pic.twitter.com/mwcamygrBu

— Nick Levine (@nicklevine) April 29, 2022

i don't want to wish the whole summer away but their brighton date in october can't come quickly enough

I'll be at the Glasgow show tomorrow too, first gig post covid

v jealous of y'all getting to see them. album totally kills

Mini ilx fap imminent!

gig was incredible, tho i am deaf in one ear now. was funny to see Kevin Kharas queuing up at the bar for a beer just before they came on. And the girl who sings on Nicotine Patch spent the show dancing just next to us. Intimate no frills show, proper rave atmosphere

even better than last time I saw them, best band in the world right now, bliss to be alive

<3<3<3

ty boxedjoy and tim f for helping me codify my thoughts about this band. deeply uncool as very cool is a funny and interesting take, somehow extremely accurate in my brainspace.

Still listening daily.

Album of the year

Also this (starts 66 minutes in):

We were live in session on @BBCR1 last night. Listen back now https://t.co/TZDWIADvBN pic.twitter.com/vssnBshrAx

— Real Lies (@_real_lies) May 11, 2022

on tour 2022, tickets on sale now https://t.co/ITyxrltlQc 🕊🌹⚡️ https://t.co/C5UZPBiRzG

— Real Lies (@_real_lies) June 16, 2022

really guilty lol at this

also over the weekend I had the lads round - as in, the friends I have who are proper lads - and we put this on at the tail end of the night's shenanigans and it seemed to really strike even more of a chord in that context. This feels like such a classic already.

got a ticket for the London show

they can be boxed too easily as "West End Girls" as produced by Underworld (or some variant or equivalent) - not so much "I don't get it" as "I get it too easily and there's nothing more there to get, to grapple with". I doubt many if any people find them either perplexing or hateful, but I could imagine a lot of shrugged shoulders and "why should I care?"
― Tim F, Friday, April 29, 2022 5:56 AM (two months ago) bookmarkflaglink

The thing is that Underworld-produced romantic synthpop, is a fantastic proposal. The pinch of French House, strong British accent, touches of sophistic-pop may all offer their soft belly for cruel spears, but you know, kill them with kindness. In today's set-up, quick dismissals are their own true collateral. Anyway, I'm late to the party, but add one voice behind this innocent and charming album.

Still rinsing the absolute fuck out of this album. Honestly can't remember the last time an album struck such a chord with me as this one has.

They've been teasing new music soon too on Instagram so looking forward to that.

xpost don’t get me wrong, I love this album.

xpost don’t get me wrong, I love this album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3dMRdZ5HhI

feels like it was designed in a lab to appeal to my exact tastes

Yeah, it's a great remix. Original might be my song of the year so far. Every single time Kev gets to the "all my friends with the same crest upon their chest" line I levitate. He sounds...completely ecstatic?

Real Lies: a band so good I bought the scarf.

something wicked this way comes 👀 live at midnight https://t.co/jRrimOnu24 https://t.co/0VaTNgrrxD

— Real Lies (@_real_lies) September 1, 2022

New song!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9-9Ljpcs1I

This is massive.

yeah, one of patrice's best productions yet i think, and that video is perfect too, a rattling journey full-tilt into the darkness. bummer it wasnt on the album tbh

am i alone in hearing echoes of 'no good' in it?

No, albeit that “echoes of ‘no good’” could describe a decent chunk of dance music from the last few years.

haha true

this rules

description says "first part of an epilogue" to lad ash, so there's more coming

Yeah they posted this on IG:
One of two songs from the world of that record that we want to put out before we put it to bed and move on with our lives.

Then finished it off with
it's also a fucking banger.
❤️‍🔥

"This has been the best night of my life."

Kev, earlier

These guys. Every time!

That's definitely something you should say on every night of the tour.

Gig was a blast tho - my first since covid too to echo or something up thread. Funny to see Patrice come out first to a reverb-drenched edit of Roy Orbison's 'You Got It' of all things while throwing OTT DJ poses. It went properly OFF for Since I, North Circular (segue from Lonely Ones into this was glorious) and the final trifecta (Dream On, Boss Trick, YGH). The threadbare setup is probably part of the charm really altho I always want background visuals to support this kind of music. Would've been fun to hear a few more of the older tracks too but can't fault 'em really. I see the sets from earlier this year did not seem to include 'An Oral History...' so thrilled that made it in towards the end.

really did want to go to that but i'm broke, but super glad it was good!

So happy to finally get this on vinyl a full three months earlier than the predicted release date. Sounds and looks beautiful and so cool to have the bonus tracks on there.

Nice. Seeing them live in a couple of weeks and cannot wait

new track “Valentine”
https://open.spotify.com/track/48M2kP5KdV0jp14Xzu8lhr?si=9JUnn3uFTbaE5TrPhigzwQ

it's really nice

love that but i feel 2:43 is about a third of the length it should be

solid content:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoGFNv0DC41/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

new track “Valentine”
https://open.spotify.com/track/48M2kP5KdV0jp14Xzu8lhr?si=9JUnn3uFTbaE5TrPhigzwQ🕸

solid content:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoGFNv0DC41/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY🕸=

surprised no one has mentioned Disco Inferno in reference to these guys

Bit late to the party and only heard them in the track rundown… this was my first thought too.

1-800 GIRLS remix of Boss Trick out today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twxnayLwVIg

I don't think anyone has mentioned their debut album in this thread... I really like it! It feels like they're still figuring out their sound, so you get some interesting elements like baggy and house groove that aren't present on their recent work. More songy overall and comes across pretty similar to what New Order did on Republic, blending 90s dance with guitars and synth-pop. And then you still get the beautiful "North Circular", closest to the direction they headed into later, which has a cool use of a Boards of Canada sample

oh their debut is stunning, “world peace” might be my favorite song of theirs

...which is obviously built round a sample from Jean-Luc Ponty's 'Computer Incantations For World Peace'. and then they namecheck JLP in 'Boss Trick' iirc

i really love 'Naked Ambition' off the debut, kind of an underrated track but that has everything i love about RL in it

yeah the JLP sample is sweet but the chorus is insanely sweet

Yeah "World Peace" is the track that reminded me most of New Order. Certainly as good as anything else RL has done

The 1-800 Girls remix of “Boss Trick” is fucking chef’s kiss, lemme tell you

very true

New single just dropped

Some songs kill you without even trying. This might be the best ever written in that genre. https://t.co/vF6vFS3pMW

— Real Lies (@_real_lies) May 24, 2023

Just stumbled on this by chance. Not sure I'd have recognised it as a Television Personalities cover if I'd not seen the title first!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2aYPA20iHE
Mall Grab & Real Lies - End Credits

(it's good)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FSagq7sh0w

new ep later this month

wow

god i love this track

Oh boy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6USyxbH98fM

love it

Another collaboration with Mall Grab. Really like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZkcQ-pFQmw

Yeah it is great!

oh man that is so good <3 <3

The collab with Kettama is great too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zly6vdtaRII

i totally missed this last year, but the gramrcy and john loveless remix of "late arcades" is astoundingly good.

https://real-lies.bandcamp.com/track/late-arcades-gramrcy-john-loveless-remix

MY BODY FLOWS LIKE WATER

“Ripples in the Timeline” is excellent

damn "ripples in the timeline" is so fucking good

still oversensitive, still raving off the excess envy

i can't make out exactly what he calls the drugs at the end of the first verse but "they taste like deep inside / and when it hits i realize..." is just perfect to me

"my body flows like water" is such a perfect place to get to, and i love the 'ah ah ah ah's that precede it, it feels like they shoot me there. this track was a big cathartic listen on my run this morning. love that you love this one.

song of the year. can't get enough of this lately. Finally got me into Lad Ash in full, too.

you all heard this ELLES remix they did earlier this year, right? Breathtaking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tqRtOaBfXg

Yep, so good

All the best ones sound like longing indeed

one of my pals bought the Bliss To Be Alive scarf and has spent winter explaining to security staff that it's a reference to a lyric and not an obscure political reference to Israel

New single out next week, tour next Spring and hints that we might be getting album #3 next year

then come exorcise your excess cortisol in dark rooms with us when the leaves return to the treeshttps://t.co/IW5Re50ZjV pic.twitter.com/Wx5BE9SMma

— Real Lies (@_real_lies) November 20, 2024

Tickets bought, third time seeing them in three years, excellent!

...a reference to a lyric and not an obscure political reference to Israel

Wow!

Also: Loverboy

hmm not really feeling this one

one of my pals bought the Bliss To Be Alive scarf and has spent winter explaining to security staff that it's a reference to a lyric and not an obscure political reference to Israel

― boxedjoy, Sunday, November 17, 2024 3:12 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

i have the bliss to be alive t-shirt. they sent me two somehow, one from the uk and one from new york iirc? thanks lads!

love this one - i like intimateness of it, like they're nurturing something precious

listening back to "Boss Trick". Can anyone tell me about the Despair Hippo?

I thought that had to be a bad transcription on the web (very mumbly bit)... I just got the vinyl in and he is indeed speaking of The Despair Hippo.

loving Loverboy!

this fucking band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jKCu-AHtbo

just heard it! fantastic tune

oh my god

Incredible single.

Has a new album been confirmed yet?

Now it has:

We Will Annihilate Our Enemies, releases April 11

1. Loverboy
2. Towards Horses
3. Wild Sign I Choose You
4. WWAOE
5. Down & Out (Where E-Girls Dare)
6. loverdrink
7. I Could Join The Birds
8. Arielle
9. Shulgin
10. LOVERWORLD
11. Finding Money ft. Jessica Barden

WE WILL ANNIHILATE OUR ENEMIES

LOVERWORLD!!!!

That's just the best news to wake up to today.

kev's insta post:

Our new album, WE WILL ANNIHILATE OUR ENEMIES, is out on April 11th. It was written in the space of the last year, and I think it’s the most beautiful album we’ve ever made, as well as the best thing I’ve ever written, lyrically. I feel like I am finally starting to understand the way the world works today, this exhilarating casino with all its horrors and sadnesses; I feel like maybe I am even learning to love it.

Either way, after finishing this album at 7x the speed of the last one, I’m confident that the world famous RL no longer have to live inside of our memories. I wanted WWAOE to confront the here and now head-on, not whine about some lost past. To those of you who’ve grown accustomed to me doing that, dw: it’s still an album about drugs, defiance, England, people, and the rain, it’s just got more songs in the present tense than the other two.

Thanks to everyone who helped get it over the line, especially Patrick, who’s somehow spent an entire year drumming up the patience to match my mood swings and anxious perfectionism stride for shambling stride.

You can pre-order the album on vinyl and CD now through our new friends at Tonal, who are also releasing the album. and we just put a load of brand new WWAOE merch on sale too via our bandcamp. Shouts to @galenbullivant and @lucas_owen and @tomwoodarchive for the visual world.

In short, it’s gonna be a big year for the operation. Get your tickets to see us out on tour, where we’ll be playing songs from our new album for the very first time. We can’t wait for you to hear them take flight.

Forza RL,

KLK
🕊♾

Looking forward to seeing them in Dublin in 2 weeks

This album can't come soon enough

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXsZ1ON6rCc

this one's wonderful

Loverboy has big You Do Scribble vibes. Can anyone hook me up with more tracks that sound like a pachinko machine? it's all i want today.

This one was new to me - kinda slight but dreamy all the same.

Tom Demac & White Lies - White Flowers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMGwCkXSQ7I

Real eyes realize real lies

Another new track came out on Friday. Really hope we get some Patrick/Unreal mixes of the new tunes at some point

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHsYutMYU2I

Had a wonderful time seeing them last night, the new songs sounded excellent.

Also met Kev Kharas and said thank you to him for everything. I didn't have to introduce myself because he recognised me from a post I'd made on Instagram earlier (!!!) and when I made a joke about posting this picture to ILM he seemed aware we'd voted Lad Ash in first place in the 2022 poll. They say you shouldn't meet heroes but I did and it was excellent.

https://i.ibb.co/jvDL7PX5/PXL-20250308-232734120.jpg

lol love it

We've got to be one of the group's biggest boosters out there, I never read about them outside this site. So it makes sense they know this site by now (hi Kev!)

So cool ♥️

Awww!!! ❤️

haha sweet

Oh my god yesss! xx

Bliss to be alive Boxed Joy!

I know we talked about this already elsewhere, but it was your championing of them ten years ago that make me take notice of them. Now they're the best British band going. I'm made up for you that you got to have that moment.

Lad Ash getting a lot of plays here at the moment. I think I might've even underrated it when it came out, sounds so good right now. New album out this coming Friday. Am taking my eldest to see them at their London gig the week after that. Annoyingly it's the exact same night as These New Puritans do their comeback show at the ICA, but I think I made the right choice and I can't flipping wait tbh

We Will Annihilate Our Enemies
https://real-lies.bandcamp.com/album/we-will-annihilate-our-enemies

1. Loverboy
2. Towards Horses
3. Wild Sign I Choose You
4. WWAOE
5. Down & Out (Where E-Girls Dare)
6. loverdrink
7. I Could Join The Birds
8. Arielle
9. Shulgin
10. LOVERWORLD
11. Finding Money ft. Jessica Barden

Album out today 🙂

Yay. Enjoy the show tonight, NIckB! I had a blast seeing them earlier this year

New album is sounding glorious. I Could Join The Birds made me feel really emotional this morning.

joining the general first-listen praise for the new album. the beats are some of their best.

seems quite tender on a first listen

Just left the London show, was excellent. (Last time I saw them the venue was too big and half-full, tonight was sold out and packed.)

Kev is such a sweethheart, his between song patter was so heartfelt. New songs sounded great.

Also greatly enjoyed the 'take it away, Patrice' bit of Boss Trick being a freestyle piano solo instead of the expected 303 bit!

Just left the London show, was excellent. (Last time I saw them the venue was too big and half-full, tonight was sold out and packed.)

― Twelves

This is great to hear. I'm hoping that somehow this is their breakthrough album. I'd at least like to see more than three websites review them this time.

Wild Sign I Choose You is an early favorite. still getting my arms around the rest

afraid to listen because as much as I like the singles so far, I feel like nothing can top Lad Ash, which I discovered late but made up for it by listening to it like once a week since January

xp yeah i like that one. i wonder what cringe kerouac quote kev is referring to.

i really love the last two tracks - beautiful, affirmative ending.

also "down and out" ;_;

the whole thing feels really smooth and sparkly.

His Name is Shulgin

geez i'm falling hard for this. the synths have a warbly texture and layeredness to them that reminds me of .. boards of canada? but blissed out and romantic instead of apocalyptic. the open-heartedness and earnestness really come through. ugh i just love it :)

"there's someone up there pulling strings
cuz it's not just angels that need their wings"

~<3~ ~<3~ ~<3~

Sad lol at "Don't you love what Sunday's guilt does to your Strava stats"

this is SO good, feels like a cut copy album with a raincoat on

Last night, I was in Weston Super Mare, a run-down shitehole seaside town in North Somerset. I had my first listen to this walking along the seafront, under the pier, as the sun was setting across the Bristol Channel, lighting up the vast glazed front of the winter gardens with a roseate glow. It was too perfect. Arielle is an early highlight.

This album is brilliant

25 years of relentless stupidity
They can never take that away from us
Still think we could win wars together
Or just sit in bed smoking tabs (?)
Tarred and feathered

At least, I think it's "tabs". That's a Geordie word though, isn't it? This is what reading Viz comic as a teen does to a mind

fantastic gig last night, they can put together a heck of a set now. the finale of 'boss trick' + 'your guiding hand' is the best thing ever. crowd were great - my son likened it to a football match and yes, they clearly lean hard into that world (multiple football references in the lyrics, scarves on the merch table, kev gleefully announcing the arsenal result, calling their fans 'ultras' etc etc) and there's that same sense of defiance and togetherness, shared triumphs, shared knocks, but it was so much more inclusive, non-aggressive, non-macho. still buzzing from the energy emanating from the stage. if you haven't ever seen them live, a huge part of their show for the last however many years have been their two dancers, both queer/non-binary, absolute fizzing physical poetry to watch (if you're interested go check https://www.instagram.com/dannisp00ner and https://www.instagram.com/robertnoble28 ). hope that they can build on this, it was so good

and indeed it's definitely tabs fwiw

many of these songs took a few listens before I really got into them, the title track and "Shulgin" especially. definitely a good album, but it's hard to top the exceptional levels they've reached previously

running a marathon today. started with the new album and working my way backwards. i hadn’t listened to lad ash since it was new and i guess it speaks to the new album's quality that i was initially more into it than lad ash. but after revisiting... yeah, the new album is good but that last album is kinda sorta aging beautifully. maybe annihilate will too with time.

in my marathoning, i went back to their post-lad ash standalone single "ultraviolet" and that's a fun one.

anyway, new album is a solid four mics from me. favorites are "wild sign", "down and out", and "finding money" but it kinda plays like a highlight reel (just like the last album). looking forward to remixes.

i think i'm hearing ... deftones references in this record??? the white pony tattoo in "down and out" and then there's another track where i swear he mentions the band by name but now i can't find where...

i gotta go back to lad ash but this is already sounding like a step forward to me. kev's lyrics were always rich in detail and wit with key moments of catharsis, but on this album there is this very strong current of romantic abandon and softness that sweeps along all of the keen weary observations into a dream world that i don't remember feeling this strongly. and i think patrick's production has likewise always been lush but man.. this is a new level of impressionistic smeary layered glory. is it tom or patrick singing in certain places like at the end of "finding money"? i know he's sung on other tracks in the past but it feels like he's singing more on this album. and i really love it, because his voice is pretty untrained, but goddamn if his charm just wins me over and i find myself singing along - so much spirit and so catchy.

apropos of nothing but my favorite real lies remix so far is gramrcy and john loveless's remix of "late arcades". it's a serious soundsystem workout and it breathes and lights up in a new, very dark, haunted way with pointillist fluorescence spotlighting the human emotion. it's stunning.

"LOVERWORLD" mentions "Deftones tats". Wish they'd put the lyrics to that song online, it's got some great lines

I really do hope they consider compiling and releasing all the remixes at some point. The ones I have heard have been almost uniformly great, but they're tough to keep track of. Anyone have a master list of all the remixes so far?

sorry, I know we are supposed to be moving on and discussing the new album, but after revisiting Lad Ash yet again this morning during my commute I really can't recall the last time I heard a better run of album tracks in a row like the Boss Trick >> Late Arcades sequence

I was a bit underwhelmed by the tracks released since 'Loverboy' so lowered my expectations for this but 'Arielle' and 'Finding Money' have grown on me since and enjoyed my first listen to the album last night tho nothing's quite hitting like the highs of LA.

an admittedly high bar. It's pathetic how I've almost been avoiding listening to the new album because I know I'll be let down. But I'll still buy the LP if and when they are available somewhere other than Bandcamp (where it would cost over $60 with shipping to the states)

Much as I like this group, getting slight Boaby G burnt-out motorcycle bullshit vibes from this article

I’ve noticed a lot of lyricists are still writing songs as if the mundane were watching a game of cricket on the village green, before meeting a girl you like at a caf then taking her to the pictures. But the mundane today isn’t that; it’s machete fights at the shopping centre, exploding self-driving cars, Chinese spyware in my pocket, microplastics in my balls.

https://thequietus.com/interviews/things-i-have-learned/real-lies-kevin-lee-kharas-doomscrolling-we-will-annihilate-our-enemies/

finally getting around to this album. how are they so fucking good

two lyrics about deftones tattoos on this

Anyone know where to buy the record other than Bandcamp? With taxes and shipping to the states it's over $60 on Bandcamp, but I have yet to seen it for sale anywhere else. Even Discogs only lists the lathe cut version and the digital files. Elusive release!

lmao the shipping costs are wild, like maybe if I was going to by 50 copies of the album

It's so good. I don't know if this will be borne out, but it feels less 'nostalgia as subject' than *Lad Ash* and more sure of itself as situationally euphoric.

Today's moment, in I Could Join the Birds: the 'hoo-rrrrrrr-ha-HAH' around 1.15. Yes!

100% agree. Yeah, the album is less about ‘nostalgia as subject’ and more that intermingling of joy, freedom, power, fear and vulnerability one feels in fleeting moments of happiness - like a less blunt version of Kacey Musgraves’ “Happy & Sad” (e.g. the opening lines of “Finding Money” - ‘She said, “meeting you was just like finding money: it’s the kind of joy that reminds you of your cage”’).

I’m a bit ambiguous on the album title - I understand the vibe it’s going for in context (including in the context of the track in which it appears as a lyric) but out of that context I don’t think it’s obvious how it connects to this album’s interrogation of the feeling of being in the moment (though it does) and instead it just seems rather overblown (though it in fact isn’t).

The album really should be called ‘The Present Lover’.

The Present Loverboy surely

album is... self released?

being in the moment is a good way to annihilate enemies, ime

otm

i think i shared the same reservations about the album title but i'm realizing now that i love it. there's something biblical about it. still can't shake the feeling whenever i put this on that i'm listening to someone's spiritual awakening. it has a very soulful, life-affirming feel to it. i think maybe the only way to annihilate one's enemies is to not have any anymore, and there's a sense of that happening here for me.

This is very nice on first listen, fans otm

being in the moment is a good way to annihilate enemies, ime

― moral ziosk (geoffreyess), Wednesday, 30 April 2025 13:29 (fifty-two minutes ago)

Yes, that’s effectively the point of the title (which is why I’m ambivalent rather than disapproving - per map the title makes more sense the more you listen)

love this album. towards horses is such a special song

i think my favorite right now is "down and out". i love how tranquil and anthemic it is at the same time, and how the chorus melody interpolates "dancer in the dark".

err "dancing in the dark"! the bruce springsteen song. not the bjork movie lol.

Saw them again on Wednesday - they came down to Brighton to do a half-hour set at some tiny venue as part of the fringe stuff around the Great Escape (Brighton's answer to SXSW). It was announced at really short notice so was only half full, and a lot of that was just random lanyard dudes who had wandered in off the beach. Super weird seeing them there, it's normally a metal/punk gigspace with a 4-inch high stage (last gig i went to there was my son's death metal band!!). Tbh the whole oddness of it was kind of a barrier to being able to fully engage with it in the moment, but that's all on me, it was pretty amazing all-in-all.

Just trying to think what they played...

Loverboy
Dream On
Towards Horses
Ripples In The Timeline
Boss Trick

Possibly something else too, but those boys can put together a heck of a set now

i love "shulgin" so much ... it sounds like a lost tough alliance song to me ;_;

i can feel the ever after coming through
and it all leads back to you
so when it comes to the time when the dying days dawn
i'll see your cigarette shining in the setting sun

is there any reliable source of lyrics for this album? do i have to get the physical

Genius seems fine. "Wild Sign..." my fave at the moment. The group in a nutshell, and a great track in its own right.

we'll find heroes in each other cos we're living in an age of none