On their full-length records The Home Inside My Head and Composure, Real Friends combined indie-rock and second-wave emo sounds with their tried and trusted brand of pop-punk.
However, since recruiting new singer Cody Muraro, Real Friends seem to be determined to return to their signature sad-boi pop-punk sound. This trend continues on There’s Nothing Worse Than Too Late, with opener Tell Me You’re Sorry boasting a crunchy sound that wouldn’t be out of place on their Everyone That Dragged You Here and Put Yourself Back Together EP’s.
Similarly, The Damage Is Done is a delightfully straightforward emo-pop banger which contemporaries, and current tour-mates, Knuckle Puck would be proud of.
Always Lose, Strangers and Six Feet are familiar doses of shout-along pop-punk, which will almost certainly become staples of Real Friend’s live set.
Conversely I Don’t Have To Do That Anymore mixes things up slightly; a softer acoustic pop-punk track, which contrasts nicely with the rest of the EP. It’s not ground-breaking, but it is very good. Fortunately, the band throw in acoustic versions of Tell Me You’re Sorry and Always Lose, so that this vibe isn’t an outlier on the release.
Lyrically, Real Friends have nailed the lovelorn chronicles of regret at this point in their career. It’s hard to think of another band in the scene that have managed to deliver as consistently on this front.
Closer I’m Not Ready nicely sums up the EP as a whole. A quick blast of melancholic pop-punk, that while instantly familiar, still leaves you wanting more.
It feels like the band are relative newcomers, but they’ve been doing this for over a decade now. At this point, they know what they do well, and they’ve honed that down to a tee on Nothing Worse Than Too Late. While the world may just be catching onto pop-punk as Machine Gun Kelly, blackbear et al. spearhead a mainstream revival; it’s worth remembering that the scene never went away, with bands such as Real Friends consistently releasing pop-punk music of a high standard. It’s also clear that when the mainstream inevitably finds something else to focus on; there will still be a scene for those that love it.
Overall, if you’re not yet convinced by Real Friends, this will do little to change your mind. However, long-time fans will love this, and this collection of songs will almost certainly find its way into their playlists for years to come.
7/10
Standout Tracks: Strangers, Tell Me You’re Sorry, Six Feet
For Fans Of: Knuckle Puck, The Story So Far, The Wonder Years
Written by: Tom Forrester
