Real Friends - Put Yourself Back Together (EP Review)

So the new Real Friends EP is pop/punk. Yep, you can't cut it any other way. It's pop/punk in the same vein as some of the pop/punk you've heard from the pop/punk explosion of the early-mid 2000s (think The Starting Line, New Found Glory, etc...). It has the slightly emo tinged lyrics, catchy sing-a-longable moments, and it has about every token thing a pop/punk EP should have. Now the question you have to ask yourself is how well does the band do it?

Overall I think this is a pretty good pop/punk EP. In my opinion Real Friends continue the trend and sound of their previous EP. There is not a lot of progression, but there is a slight hint of refinement. I think this band continues to have that little something extra from the members that help them stick out from the pack of peers who sound similar. Lyrically the band wrote some pretty good albeit repetitive lyrics in spots (the lyrics sleepy eyes and boney knees appear in a few songs again). At the end of the EP I find that more than a few lyrics in songs get stuck in my head. The EP has a great pop/punk vibe and it's definitely a super solid EP and great for summer listening.

I really like how catchy the songs are. Production wise it is a little rough around the edges so it's not super polished, but it sounds produced well enough to have a mostly clean sound. One thing I really like about the EP is that the majority of the songs have choruses that pop/punk songs really need. Meaning they get stuck in your head and have that sing along mentality which is something that I often times find myself looking for with some of the newer more abrasive sounding pop/punk groups. I'm really interested to see where this band could go with a nice recording/production budget (maybe the band's first full length will get this treatment).

Overall, Real Friends continue to build on momentum with this release. It isn't without a couple flaws and I think the debut album will really show if these guys have what it takes to make a big run at some of the newer top tier pop/punk groups out these days. With that being said it's one of the better pop/punk releases I've heard this year and I find myself pretty satisfied with the EP. I think this band is onto something and I think the first couple EPs from Real Friends (this one included) is just an introduction to what could be a real standout band in a year or two.