[6/10]
After years of near constant touring and a handful of incredible EPs, Maybe This Place Is The Same And We’re Just Changing marks a turning point in Real Friends’ career. It is the band’s first full-length release, which was combined with the promise that their trademark lines about sleepy eyes and boney knees was no longer on the album.
Kicking off the album is the track ‘Maybe This Place is the Same…’ which is a prelude more than anything into the first real single of the album; ‘I Don’t Love You Anymore’. The song consists of a sound that Real Friends fans are very familiar with – their inimitable brand of pop punk meets vintage emo. With relatable lyrics about growing up, songs such as this and ‘Cover You Up’ as well as ‘Loose Ends’ will quickly become staples of their live set. The album is jam packed with choruses made to be sung at the top of your lungs. The unique vocal performance of frontman Dan Lambton at times sounds like he is on the verge of a mental breakdown on songs such as ‘Short Ends’.
Maybe This Place Is The Same And We’re Just Changing builds on previous releases by Real Friends in many ways, and the album shows the band continuing to grow as musicians and songwriters. However it does lack the immediate impact that songs such as ‘Late Nights in My Car’ and ‘Floorboards’ had. The slower songs also lack the power that ‘I’ve Given Up On You’ had, towards the end of the album the songs start to blur into one without any stand out moments.
Overall, while it is great to see Real Friends graduate from EPs to a full length albums, the lack of quantity of tracks fail to live up to the quality of the band’s back catalogue. The album is slightly disappointing as the band are capable of better things than the album demonstrates however there are a couple of moments on the album which shows Real Friends at their finest.
By Sam Taylor
