Real Friends Milks Its Cold Blood To Perfection

Hailing from my home state of Illinois, Real Friends bounces all over the aesthetic wall for "Colder Quicker". Guitars glide effortlessly up and down the various notes, not a beat missed, not an emotion left unexpressed. Lead vocalist Dan Lambton gets his anguish out completely. He's the one carrying the burden but he ends up making us exhausted, but in a favorable sense of the word. This song originates from the album known as "The Home Inside My Head". Plenty of introspection dots "Colder Quicker". How do you think the choral surges got so mighty. You need a solid head of steam to get that level of strength accumulated. Many kindnesses can be bestowed upon drummer Brian Blake for his significant prowess but the adjective leaping past my gums happens to be "magnificent". He doesn't take a single moment to catch his breath and why should he. The boy's on a elite level roll. He's the magician and we're mere spectators in the audience waiting to be blown away. Together Eric Haines and Dave Knox form a guitar wielding spectacle that's too jaw dropping to be believed. At least we have studio proof to remind us that yes, this did really happen. The twosome assembles some crackerjack technique which gives "Colder Quicker" its unshakable muscle, Gold's Gym envious muscle. The lyrics paint a portrait of a guy trying to wrench out all that is unclean about him to varying degrees of success. We open our saga with him flat out admitting he's got complaints to air out. He bears the scars of a disillusioned chap whose world has been blown to bits thanks to the reveal that no one he valued in life turned out to be quite what he hoped for or expected. Everyone in his inner circle wore masks but, when the time came for the big reveals, the true colors were repulsive to Senor Lambton to say the least. In the choral section he scolds himself for not having thicker skin. He figures that, were he to combine that character element with thinner skin from the woman in his life, then he wouldn't have the need to retreat to some dark corner for some quality brooding. Guilt eats away at him mercilessly. Not only are his nearest and dearest not who he pictured them to be but, he's not who they pictured him to be either. Makes for a great deal of uneasy social exchanges. However, in commendable contrast, "Colder Quicker" is a cold blooded delight to try on for size. So what if it breaks a few speed limits. The petal to the metal attitude does the song justice, especially given its 3:03 running time. Real Friends demonstrate on "Colder Quicker" that they don't take the easy way out and gloss over nettlesome relationships...they lunge their group scalpel right towards the heart. The four of them aren't stupid businessmen either. They know how to treat a song like a tightly clenched fist...wad it up then let it go entirely, no grudges left twisting in the wind. The video encapsulates long hard thought. The tight shots let you know that somebody's in a state of chasm level torment and if that boil isn't turned down on the stove a bit the outcome could be horrific. Luckily Dan stops short of courting hysteria. He's not sure he's cool with the man staring back at him in the mirror but, so long as a fine audio sweat gets worked up on down the line, he can step back from the danger zone. "Colder Quicker" burns hotter longer despite being a decidedly fast dispersion of conflicted thoughts. Real Friends get an impressive passing mark for keeping it real.