"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

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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.

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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.

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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!

i find the question intriguing, i can’t get a handle on it but also don’t care too much— the title track of the new album sounds explicitly like a gay love song to me, but then “Down and Out” codes as much more hetero. queer seems about right, tho!!

I was wandering through a little south Sardinian town a few hours ago and 'Loverboy's synth pads drifted into my head all too easily. Forza RL.

nicotine patch works on a mellow dancefloor and as house party background music, it's also the track i've had the most success with turning friends onto them. the more full-on stuff i've explained as emo post-rave underworld and then something seems to click for some people

put this on running errands this morning, honestly i think ivy is right on that it might be too earnest for some people to enter into immediately— like, yeah, i am an easy crier and emotional person generally, but the whole record has a deeply emotional core that is probably jarring for fans of more traditional dance music, and the dance element is jarring for those who are expecting a straightforward emotional pop record

map, you should google everything tonight. For all we know you might not get tomorrow.

― Tim F, Wednesday, October 1, 2025 11:43 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

haha just following up but my yolo moments aren't spent in front of a computer screen, that's for sure.

Oh man I really want you to google now so you can get what Tim is doing here

you’re also giving him the greenlight, DJP

About "White Flowers" and their best merch slogan... I'm almost through "Bliss to be Alive", the collection of Gavin Hills articles. It's a fun read, having not heard of him before (being a Canadian child in the 90s). Huge RL vibes naturally.

Anyways, best i can work out, Gavin never actually used the titular phrase, and i guess it's derived from Wordsworth's French Revolution?

Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven!

🤔

i like real lies but in no small part because the omnipresence of this thread helped me, via repetition, to cut through their barriers to entry: the earnestness, the rapping, and maybe moreover the reality that rave nostalgia is a bit played at this point. but they execute it so well that it doesn't matter

Wild that the first album is 10 years old in just under two weeks. These days I'm the wrong side of the window
Thought I saw your plates, you didn’t let me in, though
These days I say sorry a lot more
Never sure if it’s the bailiffs at the door will always be one of my favourite lines of theirs.

xp Loving this music in spite of every single element of it lol. Nah that's beautiful really. i get it

Thought I saw your plates, you didn’t let me in, though

i think it's probably 'i saw your place' not plates! but yeah, what a song. still a live highlight too

I pulled it from Genius so...yeah lol, plates kinda scans better tho? Maybe even plates of meat

Does "Shulgin" remind anyone else of "Another Chance" by Roger Sanchez?

anyone in the US get their copies of the LP? I hate pestering artists on Bandcamp but as far as I can tell there hasn't been any sign of them shipping. I don't mind delays, I just worry about them ending up in some tariff-related purgatory, and without a tracking number it's impossible to know

no shipping notice? i got my scarf from them fine (after no-tracking shipping confirmation email). got the record fine from Rarewaves. it's a nice pressing!

am in Canada fwiw.

I ordered when it came out and got it ages ago

I feel like buying into this being so particularly ilx niche has become a selling point to me or something. It’s so unsuccessful, streaming wise — but it has such a well defined aesthetic. Similar to things I like like Cydnee with a C or something. Wholly artistically unique in a way that fails functionally, like he’s very good at creating art but not so good at making songs that are functionally effective (or just don’t seem concerned with it).

Part of me feels like this is a classic example of perfectionism / lack of traditional “work ethic.” I feel like if he flooded the market a little more he’d catch that feeling you get where stuff starts to advance formally. As it is they feel like these scattered gems of idiosyncrasy

I am not, btw, saying he *should* do that. It would probably lose some of its singular charm for me. But if he wanted to have like, a record that became a kind of populist dance song or something, or built an audience that transitions from cult to something more, I think what’s made his stuff stand out to us isn’t *inherently* unpopular, the formulations of it just seem kind of unusually soldered

this Patrice erasure will not stand.

damn the streaming numbers are tiny. could almost literally just be us playing it loop

Travelling from Glasgow to Manchester to see them on Friday. There's other things happening at the event - Romy, Confidence Man, Sofia Kourtesis, Erol Alkan - but to be honest I think it will be worth it just for them!

Remix and video for Loverworld

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_bqQo8FUPk

the spoken word-y Headache album from this year kind of reminded me of real lies, but more downtempo

https://plzmakeitruins.bandcamp.com/album/thank-you-for-almost-everything

Another new one. Another banger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLIPPwnG28g

Real Life vinyl reissue now available (but not for long)

https://real-lies.bandcamp.com/merch/real-life-10-yr-anniversary-reissue

great news, they've been teasing that for a little while.

also a live date announced at the ICA in March

Ticket procured. Really looking forward to it.

fucking hell i want them to come to the states so badly

they would need to have an audience here first

that's more than the 15 ilxors itt I mean

I am finally catching up with this album and surprise surprise I love it

woooooo

The Headache album is fantastic. New to me, and I'm buying it. Thanks!

new track: "A Land Beyond"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqMtMT_0bb8

How do all these non-album tracks manage to be so great

It would be cool if they collected all these tracks and released a singles collection or something at some point

on streaming it's on an EP with the other post-album singles (though weirdly with the album art) but idk if that's just the regular streaming practice

this one is my favourite of the bunch

Very excited about tonight. Looks like the fellow who was in the original three-piece line-up will be re-joining them for the evening.

Tom? Wow!

Finally managed to not be travelling when they’re playing in London, very excited…

My expectations were exceeded.

So jealous I wasn’t able to get to this.

This was the second time I have seen RL and on both occasions I came away thinking they could be a great live proposition, but aren’t. The highs are very high - a ferocious Towards Horses and an inevitably celebratory Boss Trick - but there is a fair amount of time when a combination of poor sound (didn’t hear a note from either of the women guest singers) and the conundrum of how to deal in a live setting with Kevin Lee Kharas’ whispered rap had people round me going back to their chat and their phones and their pints. I can’t think of another band I’d make this sort of remark about, but to make RL live shows as compelling as the recordings I reckon they could use a director to take the whole thing in hand, figure out solutions to some of the technical problems and help them to present themselves in a way that matches the thrilling, heart-on-sleeve wonder of their best recorded output.

Someone’s put the ICA show onto Spotify, here.

I've seen them four or five times and I've never struggled to hear KLK's vocals or any guests. I don't want to be the fanboy who supports them regardless of what they do poorly or inconsistently but to me it sounds like the problem was the ICA as a venue. I've seen them in a few different venues and had no complaints. I'll temper that with the fact that the last few times I've been front and centre in a crowd singing along full of people who adore them. But equally the first time I saw them I went solo and was in a 100-capacity room that hadn't even sold out and I could hear every word and felt there was a proper show, rather than just a gig, happening.

The new EP is excellent, it's the most The Tough Alliance they've ever sounded.

Kevin posting a picture of Bark Psychosis on their instagram, this one has always seemed very Real Lies to me...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVFBd7UEIhA

lol wow that's uncanny

1994!

EP is very good. that "Summer Rain" chorus sounded familiar to me and I finally placed it: Rihanna's part of "Monster"!