Illinois-based band Real Friends have announced their new EP "Torn In Two" will be released September 17, 2021 via Pure Noise Records. In addition, the music video for the band’s new single “Teeth” is premiering now on Hollywood Life. Directed by Raul Gonzo (PVRIS, I Don't Know How But They Found Me, AFI), the video portrays the brutality of losing someone and being unable to confront your feelings.
About “Teeth”, vocalist Cody of Real Friends shares: “Teeth is a very personal song for me. It touches on some of the years leading up to just before I joined Real Friends. I had gone through some of the most challenging years of my life. After sharing some of my experiences with the group and Andrew Wade, Andrew said: ‘Ok, brutal, now let’s turn that into a song'”.
Although the single began as a full-band song, “Teeth” ultimately sounded better in an acoustic format, as Kyle of Real Friends explains: “The full band version of ‘Teeth’ is different for us. We’ve always turned full band songs into acoustic versions. It was fun to do the opposite with ‘Teeth’. It brings out more aggression that fits the lyrical content perfectly. I’m so stoked for fans to hear this”.
"Torn In Two" was produced by Andrew Wade, who has worked on albums for punk bands A Day to Remember and Neck Deep, as well as Mike Green, who has co-written and produced on projects for Sum 41, New Found Glory, and The Aces. This new EP incorporates a recurring motif of the torn-ness and separation we have recently experienced in our everyday lives, as Cody elaborates: “I really liked how we were able to incorporate the Torn In Two theme throughout. The album artwork being people separated. The 5 main songs on one side and five alternates on the other. I think the past year has left a lot of us feeling torn, scrambling to reconnect with a sense of familiarity”. Intended to showcase the band’s evolution into a new period of music, "Torn In Two" also carries the hope that Real Friends can use their music as a bridge to their listeners. To Real Friends fans, Cody shares: “I feel music and these songs bring things back together for me. I hope these songs can make you feel connected in just the same way”.
About Real Friends:
For as much as the world has changed since Real Friends first emerged in 2010, the band’s mission hasn’t. They continue to bleed without apology and write songs that make it okay to feel everything: the ups, the downs, and anything else in between. Rather than shy away from emotion, the group run right towards it with distortion cranked and hearts opened, tightening their careful distillation of pop and punk on each subsequent release.
When the band - Dave Knox [lead guitar], Kyle Fasel [bass], Eric Haines [rhythm guitar], and Brian Blake [drums] - welcomed vocalist Cody Muraro in 2020, the goal stayed the same as they crafted new music for Pure Noise Records.
Over the years, Real Friends have forged and strengthened a deep connection with fans. The group’s 2014 full-length debut, "Maybe This Place Is the Same" and "We’re Just Changing", marked a turning point. Rock Sound named it one of the “Top 50 Albums of the Year”. 2016’s "The Home Inside My Head" maintained this momentum with further acclaim and sold out shows. In 2018, Composure incited applause from Music Connection, Alternative Press, Substream Magazine, New Noise, and Billboard who described it as “raw”. To date, they’ve also amassed over 100 million streams and counting.
"Torn in Two" Track List:
1. Remedy For Reality
2. Nervous Wreck
3. Teeth
4. Spinning
5. Storyteller
6. Remedy For Reality (Re-Imagined)
7. Nervous Wreck (Re-Imagined)
8. Teeth (Full Band)
9. Spinning (Re-Imagined)
10. Storyteller (Re-Imagined)