ALBUM REVIEW: Vantage – Real Terms

From Liverpool we are introduced to the experimental alt-pop outfit REAL TERMS and their debut album Vantage. Their music draws influence from a range of electrical styles, from bands like EVERYTHING EVERYTHING, to jazz, to guitar-led Sundara music from Zimbabwe, and even to Scottish pipe musician Brighde Chaimbeul. All of this culminates in a record that feels quirky yet at the same time is somehow relaxing.

The album opens with Improve that starts off gentle as a kind of messy arrangement of instruments start to come in with pulses that increase in volume. Eventually things begin to sound more coherent as the the energy picks up to something more upbeat, not in a punchy way, but in a style that leaves you feeling positive. With this record there’s a perfect balance between neatly polished electronic pop-rock and songs that can only be described as quirky, maybe a little out there, but which still offer a harmonious experience.

On the one hand, the album has songs like Kite, which features more electronic pop-rock styled instruments that even remind us a bit of Harry Styles, complete with a smooth beat. Veil Is Thinner also has a bubbly pop style that for some reason brings to mind THE BEATLES‘ version of With A Little Help From My Friends. It’s hard to explain why, but just listen to it and maybe you’ll hear it too?

And then on the other end of the spectrum the album has its more quirky examples like A Wall Of Milk which has whiney vocals but still makes you want to sway along, or Absentee which features what sounds like cats at the end of the song, among many other examples of tracks with chaotic arrangements that somehow still make you feel relaxed. Granted, this might not be for everyone, it might even be something you’ll hate, but it’s hard to deny the album’s calming effects. It’s fair to say that REAL TERMS have made a statement with their debut.

If anything, Vantage has the same type of vibe as “lo-fi beats to relax/study to”. It’s hard to really put this album in a box as the musical styles and arrangements go in so many different directions but the band do it so effortlessly. The vocals can be a little off and instruments messy which for other artists can be distracting but, in this example, it just works. It might not be something you come back to all that often, but it is certainly hard to forget. 

Rating: 7/10

Vantage is out now via Sofa Boy Records.

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