Real Life

This Australian band's biggest hit "Send Me an Angel" sounds like the happy result of an experiment that blended the best synthesized ideas of Pet Shop Boys and A Flock of Seagulls with a dose of celestial spirituality. The popular song appears here in its original shape as well as an extended, way over-synthesized dance mix. Listening to this collection in 2001, the question you might ask is, did people once produce albums like this? The productions are so mechanical; the vocals so straightforward and machine-like at the expense of true emotion; and yet you can't deny the nostalgic joys of it all. The tunes here -- mostly written or co-written by David Sterry -- include the anthemic "Face to Face," the robotic "Catch Me I'm Falling," "Hammer," and "Let's Fall in Love." Sure, copycatting exists these days with female teen vocalists (each trying to outdo Britney Spears with a sound based on her style), but Real Life made an art form of sounding exactly like every other band on the charts two decades ago. Fun, but very generic. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide