#kyle fasel

[tomsmusictaste]

Real Friends // Waiting Room

[binders-and-beanies]

Real Friends // Get By

[always-an-evergreen]

Highly debating making another tumblr that consists of my writing / music. I think I reached a point where I'm mostly ok with my poems and lyrics that I'm down to share some. There's just so much to sift through and I'm only comfortable with the things I've written this year 😩

[thisaintascenereviews]

Real Friends - Blue Hour

The 2010s pop-punk scene was a very interesting scene, because a lot of stuff began happening at once. I talked about it a few months back when I wrote a retrospective piece on 2010s pop-punk, and it was a lot of fun going down memory lane, specifically revisiting certain bands and albums of various scenes. You had a lot of subgenres, whether it was easycore, grunge / shoegaze, pop-leaning bands, indie, emo, or some of the old guard making their best albums to date. You mainly had a lot of straightforward bands, and Chicago act Real Friends was one of those, but they were also a meme within the genre.

I liked this band at first, especially when I was getting into the genre, but they got so old to me after awhile, because they kept writing about the same things. Remember the mantra of “sleepy eyes and bony knees”? Yeah, that was them, and it’s such a stupid and tired cliche and meme at this point. Longtime member and vocalist Dan Lambtom exited the band in 2020, and vocalist Cody Muraro taking the helm, but he hasn’t done too much with them, only releasing a couple of EPs with them before their newest record, Blue Hour.

This was also their first independently released album, so they could do whatever they want with it. I was oddly curious, because their last couple of EPs were quite good, despite being relatively generic. They were the good kind of generic, where they do what they do well, and that’s all we need. After listening to this a few times, though, I have a few key takeaways, mainly that this album is their best album they’ve ever done, and the first time I’ve enjoyed an album of theirs in a long time, but it’s not perfect. I like this album, but I don’t love it. If anything, it’s still full of a lot of cliches and generic moments that aren’t bad, per se, but I feel like I’m listening to an album from 2014.

That can be a good or bad thing, depending on how you feel, but I’m leaning on the mediocre side. I like this thing, but it just feels like I’ve heard it all before by the end. Even the lyrics aren’t that interesting, but I don’t want to discredit them, because bassist Kyle Fasel (who normally writes the lyrics, so he’s to blame for the bad sleepy eyes lyric) said that these were his most personal lyrics to date. I can hear that, but at the same time, they don’t quite sound like anything I haven’t heard in this scene. They just sound like generic sad boy pop-punk lyrics that will resonate with people, I’m sure, but I’ve heard it all before.

This record is fine, and it’s good for a pop-punk album, but I wouldn’t say this is the best pop-punk album of the year. This isn’t the new State Champs or Neck Deep albums, but this is still their best album by far. I do enjoy this more than their other albums, but not by a whole lot, I guess. Their sound is still good, but at the same time, this album is pretty generic, all things considered. Pop-punk fans should eat this up, though, and I get why, because it’s a perfect album for that sound, especially if you enjoy a 2010s pop-punk sound. I’m partial to it, but this isn’t my favorite pop-punk album of the year, unfortunately.

[s-o-n-de-r]

Taylor Acorn

10.20.22 | Rebel Lounge | Phoenix, AZ Written and photographed by Brian Andersen

Have you ever really honestly tried something out and it wasn’t for you so you adjust until it does? Taylor Acorn can relate. While supporting Real Friends and With Confidence on their Fall Tour, Acorn confessed to a sold out show at the Rebel Lounge in Phoenix, AZ that she had been covering Jaime All Over by Mayday Parade for a long time but it wasn’t until recently that she started playing to crowds that appreciate the cover. You may recognize her from her feature with Arrows in Action on Uncomfortably Numb. Recently Acorn made an artistic shift from country to the pop punk scene. Her more recent tracks will fit right into any playlist featuring the late 00’s and early 10’s classics like Paramore and We the Kings and of course she felt right at home alongside the rest of the fantastic touring artists. Add her to your playlists, you can’t go wrong.

Acorn was first to perform. Accompanied by only a guitarist and a drummer, the stage felt anything but empty. There was so much energy radiating from the stage, it was hard not to bop along. As previously mentioned, they played an acoustic cover of Jaime All Over. She requested crowd participation and boy howdy, the crowd participated, belting every word back at her. She says it’s things like that that make her feel the genre switch was a good move. (It was.) The crowd reacted equally electrically for her originals like Psycho and Shapeshifting. She did a proper job of warming up the crowd for Seattle 5-piece, The Home Team. Who subsequently did a fire job of adding to the heat. Sporting certified bops like She’s Quiet, Slow Bloom, and Watching All Your Friends Get Rich, it’s impossible to sit still with these guys on stage. They bring such a fun, infectious energy, and with the intimate spacing of the Rebel Lounge, everyone there caught it. Unlike Covid, though, the only symptoms include having a really great time, increased chance of post-concert bangovers and thrown out necks. See, these headlining acts get all the glory for being the main attraction of the tour and all that, but their job is made significantly easier with killer openers like these.

By the time With Confidence hit the stage, the crowd was ready for it. Making the trip all the way from Australia, Phoenix gave them a huge, warm welcome. Some fans literally brought them roses. They brought the fan favorites like What you Make It, and Moving Boxes and the crowd went nuts for it. Finally Real Friends closed out the show. They did their typical Dog Meet and Greet at Los Olivos Park in Phoenix before the show. Unfortunately Kyle Fasel was not feeling well and so the band performed without him. We definitely missed him, but by no means did the show feel lacking. They gave everything they had and the crowd gave everything back. They definitely demonstrated why this was a sold out show. Cody Muraro of Real Friends promised to be back in Phoenix, but next time they’re booking a bigger venue.

Unfortunately as of this writing, the tour has concluded. But if you get a chance to catch Taylor Acorn or any of these other incredible artists, I highly recommend you jump at the chance.

---

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[sexualassbutts]

~ Kyle Fasel

[blackcoffeegerard]

vital signs are weakening

[cameronhvrley]

Real Friends | Nervous Wreck

send me your favourite song and i’ll make a gif/edit of my favourite line and add it to my spotify playlist!

spotify playlist

[punkperidot]

Smiling On The Surface — Real Friends

[punkbouquet]

Just when I think I need someone They wrap their arms around my old bones And I start breaking apart I walk away from anyone that cares about me But I swear my skin's not as rough as I make it out to be The saddest part is I've been distant since I was sixteen It keeps me up in bed I'm stuck here with all the choices I've made And the chances I was too afraid to change

[rotten-day-dreams]

//// Nothing memorable stays the same a book of poems by Kyle Fasel.

[basic-cunt]

The third of my three Real Friends tattoos in Kyle Fasels handwriting

[binders-and-beanies]

This is the drawing I was talking abt last night btw that I got to show him. I realized lately tumblr has deleted A LOT of my art, like not just community labels or “no post found” or anything just straight up gone. So here’s a somewhat older one I’ve shared before but have a new positive memory abt :)

[takeasmiletoday]

-Kyle Fasel (x)

[barrykeohgan]

summer // real friends

[the-perks-of-bandmembers]

Summer//Real Friends Have a crappy attempt at making a cool edit