Real Lies dream of »Loverboy«, sip their »Lovedrink« in a »Loverworld« – and fire off eleven tracks that sound as bittersweet as melancholy caught on old VHS tapes. The London-based electronic duo seems to be drafting their own philosophy of love. Kev Kharas and Patrick King know how to soften even the hardest hearts – even those of the most jaded cynics. As isolation, online and in real life, turns the world into a grey, neoliberal blur, Real Lies simply paint a few pink clouds over the negativity. We Annihilate Our Enemies suggests you don’t have to fight your enemies – you can dissolve them with love. Fantasies of violence turn into daydreams, paranoia transforms into collective euphoria.
Musically, the album moves between breakbeat, house, and art-pop – rave nostalgia meets the soothing emotionality of pop. Breakbeats collide with euphoric vocals in a way that feels like they were beamed straight in from a hissy 1990s mixtape. What keeps Real Lies from ever veering into kitsch is their dry understatement, which turns every grand gesture into a casually tossed-off observation. If you’re not at least a little convinced of the possibility of a better, more tender world after this album, then maybe you’ve just never truly danced.
