Real One

Since making their debut in 2011, Sam Coffey & the Iron Lungs have usually been pegged as either a pop-punk or power pop band. 2021s Real One, on the other hand, suggests theyve had something else in mind recently -- judging from these 11 songs, they want to be a heartland rock band of the 1980s, filling the heads of their fans with passionate anthems delivered with arena-level bombast. Gates of Heaven sounds for all the world like the Big Rock Song playing over the end credits in some drama about Rust Belt life in the 80s, 15 Minutes could pass for a tune youve heard a few hundred times on Classic Rock radio, and She Knows splits the sonic difference between Thin Lizzy and Bob Seger. Exactly how Coffey and his bandmates came to dive so deep into something so gloriously unfashionable in the year 2021 is anyones guess, yet the fact is, these folks sound thoroughly comfortable with their new creative direction. Sam Coffey & the Iron Lungs have the chops to pull this off as well as the spirit, and the big interlocking guitars, emotive keyboards, and vocals determined to speak to the last fan in the last row are the work of a band thats inspired and eager to entertain. Producer Alex Bonenfant (who previously worked with Crystal Castles and METZ) knows exactly what Coffey needs to make this music work, and the audio is big and glossy enough to sound ready to fill North Americas hockey arenas without sliding into self-parody. With the exception of the Hold Steady, there arent many acts emerging from the indie underground that are as comfortable embracing this variety of fist-pumping rockist entertainment, and Real One makes it sound as if this is what Sam Coffey was really cut out to do. ~ Mark Deming