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The Real Sickies 2021 – Love is for Lovers – July 9th, 2021

Edmonton’s Real Sickies have released their newest album “Love is for Lovers” via Stomp Records. The band serves up yet another platter full of tasty hooks and punk rock melodies, but this time around with a dash of pop that shows a leap in songwriting craft. Recorded in Edmonton at Rob Lawless’ Physics Lab Studios, the album offers songs that straddle the border between Ramones style aggression and Strokes reminiscent vocal takes. This color-vinyl release includes everything from explosive rockers to heart-wrenching ballads. “Love is for Lovers” is the whole enchilada!

Everybody knows that love is always best when it's shared with friends and with special guests. It was only natural then, that they would hire Dave Bacon of SNFU  to add bass and vocals to their cover of T-Rex’s “Jeepster” and for their own “Think of the Sunshine.” When the band was ready to hit their more heartfelt numbers on the album, they enlisted local indie country sensation Lucette. Her soulful and emotive vocals can be heard on the duet “Give and Take.” “We toyed with the idea of a duet for a bit and it made sense for us to keep it local but open up new doors to people we wouldn’t have otherwise gotten a chance to work with,” says singer Ben Disaster of the collaboration.

The band’s advances in songwriting skill is apparent with this latest release, and with good reason. “The album has been in the works since 2018,” says singer Ben Disaster. “We ended up scrapping songs a few times, I guess maybe more so demoing them and re-demoing them. That wasn’t something we had really done in the past. More go go go go go.” A key part of the equation when listening to their new album is the production influence of Real Mckenzies’ bassist Mario Nieva. Ben and Mario met unexpectedly in a B.C. Ferries restroom while their respective bands were on tour. Ben Disaster says of the encounter, “We hit it off talking about mental health and love and music, basic bathroom talk. Mario ended up playing bass for us on the last night of the tour and we decided to get him to come out and lend a fresh set of ears to the album. That's when it started taking a new form.” 

 

Lyrically the album is a collection of stories about life on tour, wins and falls between friendships and relationships, growth, steps backward, addictions, and moments of sobriety. Singer Ben Disaster describes the theme of the album as “working through the ups and downs with those you love with the overall view that love is for everyone not just what is stated by outdated laws and beliefs.” Regarding the title track “Love is for Lovers” specifically, Ben explains, “I really wanted to address some homophobic comments left on some of our videos by a specific individual. So funny to troll people about that, who are very open ended, so it was finally time to address that and the politics around love.”

Already the band has charted at #1 on campus radio for their teaser single “Lover is for Lovers” and the album’s official video for “Communication Breakdown” has racked up close to 100k in views on Youtube. The Real Sickies are itching to get back on the road, and their touring history is proof of their dedication to pounding the pavement. The boys have been on the road with influential and acclaimed artists like Stiff Little Fingers, Subhumans UK, Chixdiggit, Real Mckenzies, Guida, 88 Fingers Louie, Mean Jeans, Ten Foot Pole, and a host of others. As the pandemic seems to be coming close to an end, expect to see Real Sickies in a town near you soon. And as Ben Disaster would have you remember, “No matter who you are you deserve love. Love is for lovers, so go out and get yours today!”