Review Summary: In their underappreciated debut, Real Life give listeners a deep dive into heartbreak and uncertainty.
Real Life is an Australian 80s New Wave group best known for their one-hit wonder “Send Me An Angel”. But what many people don’t know is that track itself came from an album released six years prior to the band’s big moment in the spotlight. The album in question,
Heartland, is an underappreciated deep dive into heartbreak with an occasional mask, hiding the audience from its true intentions.
The album opens with its most recognizable track, the already mentioned “Send Me an Angel”. An undisputed new wave classic filled with lush 80s synth work. From the opening moments with its iconic synth line to its chorus, complete with operatic backing vocals, the entire track paints a cold and damp cry for help. Sterry sings
“Open Fire! / On my burning heart!” as Simcic (Drummer) blasts into the track with a crash, shifting the entire thing into high gear as spacious synths and interjecting claps help push the track forward to its explosive chorus. “Send Me An Angel” is one of the best singles from the 80s, and it starts the album with a theatrical sense of energy that the rest of the album continues to tinker with in varying degrees.
These seeds planted by “Send Me An Angel” can be seen in other tracks like “Catch Me I’m Falling”, “Open Hearted”, and “Breaking Point”. Although neither track, no matter how solid they may be, never catch up to the bar set by “Send Me An Angel”.
One track that does reach that bar is the surprise underdog hit, “Always” which includes an absolutely infectious chorus and almost uncharacteristically upbeat and positive tone.
“Always never-ending always no pretending / We know our love is forever” sings Sterry, sounding the most gleeful and positive on the entire album. The track is a short and sweet tune that acts as a mask, sheltering the listeners in a moment of content and homeliness before throwing them back into the deep end for the last 1/3 of the album.
This deep end culminates in the album’s most striking moment, the raw and explosive “Exploding Bullets”. Featuring a bold vocal performance from Sterry who gives listeners intense moments as he screams
“We’ve gotta get out of here! / We’ve gotta get out of here!” The track is complete with some interjecting stuttering toms that only add to the sense of intensity and anxiety ruptured by the track. Sterry pushes the anxiety of the track even further as he repeats lyrics with varying degrees of intensity.
“But this is the war / But this is the war!” he screams before the song explodes one last time, concluding with one last blast of snares, kicks, and toms before quietly transitioning to the closing track. “Exploding Bullets” is easily the biggest experimental success on the album, and it also serves as the emotional climax of the album.
Another memorable moment is the title track, “Heartland”, which begins with a soft synthetic bass guitar and rattling drums as Sterry interjects
“It’s not the thought of leaving you / that breaks the tears to by eyes”. He carries a sense of hopelessness, his voice shaking the further along the verse goes. The track culminates in the best solo on album, a solo that takes the spotlight before giving it right back to Sterry as the guitar continues to thicken the synth line behind the vocals.
Not every track is a hit though, as the catchy and confusing “Broken Again” proves. The lyrics on the track are the biggest hindrance and feel completely ridiculous.
“Slow Talk / Fast Talk / Small Talk / Tall talk / What does it mean? I’m wondering the same thing too, pal. Although that is not the say it is entirely a dud, as the playful production helps carry the track with its rumbling bassline and descending synth line. It is a fun misfire that doesn’t destroy the album, nor help it.
The album is covered in dated 80s synths. From the opening moments of “Send Me An Angel” to the fade out of “Burning Blue” there is not one track that is not drenched in these synths and drums. That is not a negative thing though, as the dated synths help build this cold atmosphere that Real Life tried to convey in their lyrics and accompanying music videos. The lyrics too, can at times be almost silly or dated in their cryptic-ness. Most of the lyrics though have an air of poetic-ness to the them that make it all enjoyable, if at times aimless or strange.
Heartland is a cold and damp reminder of Australia's foothold in the 80s new wave scene. While the presentation is much colder than most revered 80s pop, the album excels at giving listeners a deep dive into heartbreak and uncertainty. And that makes it one of biggest stand-outs and underappreciated albums in its genre.
