I first became aware of Real Sickies late last year after coming across their album Get Well Soon. I very quickly fell in love with their fun mixture of Ramonescore pop punk and classic rock 'n' roll. Sadly, I discovered it too late in the year to review it or include it on any top ten lists. To my surprise, I didn't have to wait long for Real Sickies’ next album so I could actually give them some coverage. At the end of August this year, the five piece released a brand new album titled Out Of Space on Stomp Records.
Out Of Space begins with its title track. It starts out with some eerie science fiction style music that gradually phases in a drum beat before the Real Sickies get going. Playing some of the finest pop punk 'n' roll music around, it's hard not to immediately get swept up in their sound. Out Of Space is about that person who just won't shut up, who takes things too far and wanting them to disappear for good. Forgot To Let Go sees the Real Sickies implement some keys to their pop punk sound. They did this a lot on their previous album, Get Well Soon, and it really helped them to stand out from other bands in the pop punk genre. As I'm sure you can imagine from a Ramonescore pop punk album, the song is really catchy with the chorus in particular taking up residence in your brain very fast. The track is about not being able to move on from a relationship and the thoughts and emotions that it brings. The song’s ending shows off some fantastic harmonies from the band that I just loved. It Came From Above is a faster song which sees the band going down more of a Teenage Bottlerocket/Copyrights road of pop punk music. The song explodes into life from the beginning, really filling you with energy and hooking you in. This energy remains throughout the song. I wouldn't call in relentless but it is played at some pace. It Came From Above is about getting dumped and not being able to say goodbye in the way that you would like to. The fade out that finishes the song really lets you dwell on the song.
When Not A Lifer began I kind of expected the song to be a cover of I Wanna Be Sedated. Instead Real Sickies go into some short and stabby lyrics and have you wanting to sing along immediately. For the most part, the vocals provide the melody for the song with the guitars and drums subtlety driving the song forward with a one-two style beat. The band also use a lot of gang vocals and harmonies throughout the song that add a fantastic extra layer to the track. The fifth song is named Psycho Hopper. Sonically it's a very upbeat and cheerful song that bounces along nicely and even includes some sha-la-las that add to the overall happy sound of the track. When you listen to the lyrics though, it's actually a song that is about struggling with your mental health after being left broken hearted. I always love when a band is so upfront with their messages of mental health as it is very important to talk about it. Real Sickies manage to cover such a variety of emotions and feelings that you go through when you're at your worst. Anyone who's ever been to the doctors to talk about their mental health with relate with the lyrics to Psycho Hopper. It's Been A While sees the reintroduction of they keys and a bit of hand clapping to start the song. When the vocals come in I thought it sounded as if the band were heading down more of an indie rock path. This I enjoyed as we're getting towards the halfway point of the album and it gives Out Of Space a fresher sound. The chorus in particular is really infectious and had me singing along in no time at all.
Yeah You is a track that jumps right out of the block. Embracing the rock 'n' roll side of the Real Sickies influences, the song features some crazy good guitar solos that you might expect from the best 80s hair metal bands. The track is about love at first sight and quickly giving that person everything you have. It's a nice, happy, positive song that has some fantastic ups and downs with a superb building section that leads towards the track’s big finale. Got Me Running starts out with some great bass and drum playing that gives the album another different feel. It's a short and simple song that’s played at a great pace. It's actually a great song for running to, if you can only run for one minute and twenty four seconds. Quite obviously, the song is about running for your life. The lyrics are delivered in a punchy fashion that adds so much energy and urgency to the track, making it one of my favourites on Out Of Space. Another fairly short song is up next, Something Good sees the Real Sickies bring the pace back down for this positive song. On Something good the band talk about knowing that they will find a light at the end of the tunnel despite it feeling like there isn't a lot of good in the world. I love a positive song like this, it always warms my heart and puts a smile on my face. I can see this song being really popular at a Real Sickies show as well, particularly the bridge and final chorus – this surely gets a massive sing-along.
The tenth track is named Fallen In Love (or Fallen Love, as Spotify suggests) is yet another catchy pop punk 'n' roll number where the Real Sickies sing about love. On this occasion, they question whether or not they want to fall in love or whether or not they're wasting their time. The eleventh song is a cover of Roky Ericson's song Starry Eyes. I wasn't aware of the song before hearing the Real Sickies cover so had to go and check out the original. The band do a very good job of making the song sound like their own without straying too far from the original which I thought was very good. The cover also provides another change of pace, which is always needed on an album with so many songs. The penultimate song is titled Bye Bye. I did find the fact that the penultimate song is named Bye Bye very amusing – it's the simple things. This song encapsulates everything I love about the Real Sickies. It's a raucous sing-along that doesn't ever relent. Vocals come from all directions with the rest of the band not shy in joining the lead singer in chanting the chorus. It's the kind of song that will have you singing and dancing in equal measure with such a big smile glued to your face. Bye Bye talks about knowing that it's time to leave a relationship and feeling like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders. Last up is another cover song, this time it's Top Down by Teenage Head. Real Sickies list Teenage Head as an influence and listening to the original of Top Down you can really hear why. Perhaps one of the originators of this pop punk 'n' roll sound that the band play, I thought it was great that they covered one of their favourite bands to perhaps present them to a brand new audience.
Out Of Space is another fantastic album by the Real Sickies. It's refreshing to hear a pop punk band sounding unique. That's one of the biggest complaints a lot of people have with the genre and the Real Sickies do the best job of pouring cold water on the opinion. Catchy is the best was to describe the album, fun is also another word I use, as well as brilliant.
Stream and download Out Of Space here: https://realsickies.bandcamp.com/album/out-of-space
Like Real Sickies here: https://www.facebook.com/therealsickies/
This review was written by Colin Clark.
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