“Real Life”
from the EP Real Life
2010
iTunes
In an interview a couple of years ago, Swedish electronic pop duo the Tough Alliance, asked what (if anything) they’re looking for, answered simply, “Reality.” Now, past TTA remixers Tanlines have named the first single from their new Settings EP “Real Life,” though as far as I can tell that phrase appears nowhere in the song’s lyrics. Not that the Brooklyn-based duo of ex-Don Cabellero/Storm and Stress man Eric Emm and former Professor Murder-er Jesse Cohen are being elusive here. As with Delorean or Cut Copy at their catchiest, “Real Life” is neon-synthed pop you could imagine going over equally well at a dance party or, seriously, a sporting event. Echoing in there amid all the sproingy bass lines and calypso-calibrated percussion, Emm’s no-frills voice at first might seem like the weakest part, but it’s also what sells the song’s emotional vulnerability. “It was a past life thing,” he repeats, on one of those swooning choruses you don’t realize you love until you hear somebody else play them in a public forum. And then, with an air of sad finality: “It wasn’t anything at all.” TTA might claim to “know a place where diamonds never fade away,” but Tanlines know nothing gold can stay. For real.