Real Friends has always been one of those bands who I constantly hear other people talking about but I never seemed to hear much of. Former lead singer Dan Lambton was compared to The Wonder Years lead singer, Dan Campbell by Rock Sound Magazine in 2015. Usually, this would have been enough to get me to listen as I love The Wonder Years, but Real Friends continued to slip past me, until now, with the release of Blue Hour.
First, let's talk about the elephant in the room. This is the band's first LP with new lead singer Cody Muraro, formerly of Youth Fountain and Parting Ways. Muraro's voice is darker than his predecessor's. Where it lacks in Lambton's genre-typical nasality and hyper-tenor range, Muraro makes up with a satisfying rock scream edge to his vocals and a slightly more resonant tone which blends better with backing vocals. The band has compensated for this vocal shift by writing music for Blue Hour which leans further toward hard rock and away from pop-punk while still paying homage to the genre's roots in lyrical content and orchestration.
Lyrically, this record left me with something to be desired. While the tunes were catchy enough and the music certainly interesting, I was not left with any of the lyrics in my head after listening. If asked what any of the individual songs were about, I would say "loud guitars and screaming." This isn't always something bad in pop-punk, but when it comes to Blue Hour, the result is mostly forgettable song lyrics attached to songs which I image would go over much better live. All that said, the lyrics are supremely depressing when they are recalled properly, which, as fans of pop punk know, is a point in the record's favor.
The production is also suffering from the Jack Antonoff syndrome, and by that I mean that it sounds like the music is being performed underwater and through a closed door in the next room (still don't understand? Listen to Midnights by Taylor Swift then come back here). While it isn't as severe as it could be, several tracks, especially the first, fall victim to this popular but ultimately unfortunate production trend.
The production is not all bad, however. Interesting choices in compressing the vocals give Muraro's singing an edge that I struggle to find comparisons for in contemporaries, and clever usage of microphone placement on songs like This Year Is Out To Get Me and Never Has Become Always give guitarist Dave Knox's instrument a country twang to it, usually unheard in punk music, which is very welcome in these cases, reminiscent of mixing on the LP Sister Cities by The Wonder Years.
Where Blue Hour shines is in its emotional expression in Muraro's vocals, and text painting in the performance of band members Blake, Fasel, Haines, and Knox. Real Friends is a band which I would love to see live, and I have to imagine the show is an insane time.
Fans of Real Friends will likely enjoy the band's new chapter, and hesitant fans should give them a try. For new fans, I would suggest giving Blue Hour a listen! Despite many seemingly negative things I said about this album, I can't seem to stop listening to it. It's great for a bad mood. It's great for the morning, it's great for a commute. Listening to Blue Hour makes me feel like I'm watching the sunset it spring. This band was compared to The Wonder Years twice in this review, so fans of TWY should also give Blue Hour a listen. Check it out! 3/5.
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