‘Real Life’ by Sky Island is a 10-track metal album with elements of synth-pop that tell an internal story of roaring heartbreak that settles into uneasy acceptance. Spoken word interludes at the end of a few tracks set the scene for the next song.
The album’s soundscape is characterised by ambient synths that is contratsted by a heavy metal sound, that features sharp percussion and whirling guitars.
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‘Real Life’: Track-by-Track
‘Real Life’ pt.I: ‘Intro’-’Ghost In The Room’
The album’s ‘Intro’ is an instrumental build with synths and ambient sounds that move towards something. These sounds set the scene, while introducing the listener to the melodies of the next track, easing us into an experience that is close to goosebump inducing.
This is followed by a seamless transition into ‘Red Rose’, a song that feels like a frenetic power anthem. The song features slow, cascading guitar melodies and a sharp percussion that layers onto the scene set by the album’s introduction. The song feels climactic, though its the second track on the album, introducing us to our narrator’s frenetic overthinking thoughts.
‘Down To Earth’ follows this with its quick-paced almost descending melody, characterised by synths, raw guitars and percussion. The song’s soundscape feels like it pulls you to the bottom, with vocals and dark growls that seem to scream in frustration. This song is book-ended by a spoken word piece that sets the scene from the next track.
‘Solitude’ is a guitar-led track that is relatively calmer than the last two tracks. There’s a sense that the frenetic pacing is slowly beginning to settle. This while our narrator begins to reflect in a silence that is being threatened by the guitars pulling at them.
Here it’s as though the narrator’s thoughts are screaming at them as they attempt to find some peace.
‘Ghost In A Room’ takes from ‘Solitude’ ‘s almost quiet sense of isolation, settling even further from a jumpy, frenetic mood, to something that is simply energetic. The calm is being thrust upon our narrator, while they reflect and describe themselves as something removed and othered.
“…I’m just another ghost in the room…
…Just waiting for a colour other than blue…”.
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‘Real Life’ pt. II: ‘Friend Is Me’-’Remedy’
‘Friend In Me’ is a guitar-led track with synths that feel slower. That soundscape evokes this looping sensation that feels like it compliments the song’s “mind is strife” mood-space. The guitar melodies on this track sound catchy in a classic way, reminiscent of 2000s pop/punk-rock.
‘Right or Wrong’ on the other hand, though slow, feels like a cocktail of mixed emotions. The soundscape brings up a sense of anger, confusion and even a sprinkle of something light. Now there’s a concrete sense that things have settled somehow, with variations in rhythm and pacing feeling less frenetic and more quiet and calm.
There’s a sense of energy to the track that feels like its settling into melancholic acceptance now. Synths then set the scene for the dark melodies of the ‘Boat Song’. This song’s mood feels like a sense of calm before a raging storm, with the vague image of heavy storm clouds sucking away any positive sense of hope.
The synths at the end of ‘Boat Song’ cut through the song’s soundscape, while the spoken word sets the tone for ‘Monochrome’. This describing the moments before all hope fades with the imagery of colours fading away.
‘Monochrome’ rests within the album’s bittersweet sense of acceptance. The soundscape quietly and tentatively builds towards something before abruptly nose-diving into a frenzy of energetic playing. There’s a sense of despondecy that ends with the instrumentation clapping like a sudden roar of thunder and flash of lightning.
The spoken word conclusion that the song builds up to a powerful realisation: in the face of all of this adversity “…darkness is my only remedy…’. This sentiment seamlessly transitions into the final track, ‘Remedy’.
‘Remedy’ realises its dark acceptance that accepts that being alone is ok, especially after the journey that we’ve been on. Its soundscape feels like the sun pouring in, with a melodious guitar solo that feels celebratory and jubilant.
‘Real Life’ by Sky Island ends with a spoken line that encapsulates this sense of acceptance. Reflecting on these moments as our narrator finally moves on.
“I looked up through the waves and my last hope became my first love.”
The Artist
Sky Island is a metal/synth/pop band from Minneapolis. Their goal as band is to take their love for metal and combine it with pop and synth elements to create a heavy but palatable sound.
Follow Sky Island on Instagram!
Listen to ‘Real Life’ here:
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