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

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?

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"!

how are these guys live? I'm not entirely convinced about these guys (I seem to be alone on this on here....) but I'm willing to hear otherwise, would their live show convince a skeptic like me or is it strictly for the fans?

can they convince me to be part of something

lol you are not alone once you leave the confines of this thread, I’ve learned to my absolute chagrin

I've taken friends to see them who've been originally much less hot for them than I am and they've left as full converts.

@Murgatroyd - scroll up to my comment on 13th March 2026. I think some of the recordings are fantastic, but I’m not sure I’d bother seeing them live again.

They're in Toronto and Montreal this weekend so I suppose I can report back! But tbf I'm already a convert so idk how valuable my review will be

got tickets to the mtl show. very pumped. i like the venue too. hoping for an intimate affair packed with sweaty lads singing their hearts out

bad news :(

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZfFGaxiAW2/?igsh=MTF0bnhoYWZocG10MQ==

Kev's sick and they've had to cancel the shows

Sorry i hadn't read the second page - there will still be shows of a sort but no Kev

Dang that rly sucks. Hope they can rebook for another time