The Real Deal – Fun

On their sophomore album, The Real Deal are trying to cement one thing in their fans’ minds: and that is that they aren’t trying to change the musical landscape in anyway shape or form. Instead, they’re there just to have fun, to ensure that their fans are having fun and that anyone who hears their album has fun. It kind of makes sense then that they would name that sophomore album Fun, especially considering that Fun is, well, fun.

Picking up where Hungover, But Dead Sober left off, Fun is a fast paced, ska-punk album but where they use to emphasize the later, Fun has a bigger emphasis on the former this time around. This makes for an album that carries a stronger sense of rhythm and melody with songs built on a solid two-tone melody compared to fast punk.

Tracks like Rebel’s Chant and Our Parking Lot basically force the listener to tap their foot and sing along with the energetic upstroke and sing-along chorus. In fact, other than Way Back Home, which sounds like SR-71’s She Was Dead, Fun sounds like an album that Less Than Jake would love to put out. The vocalist comes across as a mix between Chris Demakes and JR Wasilewski – which will make any ska fan smile with glee. There’s still the occasional Flatliners similarities while the profanity-filled Another “Another Fuck You Song” instantly reminds me off the comical Reel Big Fish style of lyrics thanks to its chorus of “fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!”. Although unlike The Fish, the song is more straight forward punk, more along the lines of The Johnstones than anything else.

Despite the heavier emphasis put on the ska sound on the album, The Real Deal haven’t lost their punk rock edge either. The vocals carry with them a bite of venom and Fun still features the odd punk rock tune for the circle pit enthusiast. Like the minute and a half long It’s Paradise which blasts through with distorted guitars and thunderous bass drum. These changes in tempo and speed help keep the album fresh as the listener is never quite sure exactly what they’ll be getting next.

As Fun comes to an end and you reach to press play once again, you can’t help but see that The Real Deal accomplished their goal of creating a fun and enjoyable album. Yeah, it won’t change your life, but you’ll have a fucking awesome time singing along with it.