Real Numbers "Was It Always This Way" Black Vinyl LP

€19.00

Real Numbers "Was It Always This Way" Black Vinyl LP

€19.00

Expected to ship on or before the August 14th release date. If you live outside Europe here are more places to order.

Minneapolis' Real Numbers return with a new full length album, the gorgeously pop-tastic “Was It Always This Way.” Ten expectant, exuberant songs mixing hope and despair, the future and the past, all set to the sounds of late-80s/early-90s UK indiepop. While definitely picking up where their 2021 EP "Brighter Then" left off, the emphasis this time is on multi-layered guitars intended to complement the wistful and melancholy tracks with glittering awe. Lyrical themes include modern fame, mixing opposites and reckoning with your own significance, guaranteed to appeal to fans of Sarah, Creation, and Elefant Records.

Tracked and mixed at Softcult Studios by the band's long time producer Matt Castore, primary songwriter Eli Hansen is joined by a mostly new line up featuring Andrew Jansen (bass), Sophie Durbin (keyboard/vocals), Fez Felzan (drums) and Jeff Cornell (guitar). This lineup solidified in 2023 and went to work immediately demoing the new tunes, releasing an early version of "Don't Look Away” on Prefect Records' "227" compilation LP.

By the summer of '24 the band was back at Softcult recording the first batch of songs that would comprise “Was It Always This Way,” continuing through summer 2026, refining and polishing the tunes into a swooningly perfect album that recalls 90s antecedents like Field Mice and St Christopher, as well as fellow pop practitioners like Ducks Ltd, Chime School and The Umbrellas. Album highlights like "Darling" and "Never Never Again" show that Real Numbers stand tall with their influences, paying close attention to the past while taking their art straight into the future with assurance and flair.