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Happy After seven years of silence, Real Life comes back to the scene like a voice calling out from the outback. I'm sure this is partly timed with the rejuvenation of the synthpop scene overall, and the general better health that the scene seems to be in these days. The scene was partly kept alive by European bands, and in America at least, was more represented by EBM and industrial as well as Eurodisco rather than true synthpop. Real Life seems to have grasped this concept and adopted techno and industrial elements into their music in even larger doses than they had previously. Happy sounds quite a bit different than previous Real Life releases, but it still has David Sterry's remarkable vocals and pop hooks. Even the "filler" tracks are the best filler tracks on a Real Life cd. Overall, I think this is the best Real Life cd to date. I'm actually really looking forward to the Happier remix album that's supposed to come out real soon now. The first track is also the first single from the cd, "Everything Explodes". That's kinda too bad, since it's not the best song on the cd. It's a decent enough dancey number, though with a crunchier and edgier sound than Real Life has had to date. "Virus" is a filler track, with a chorus that never really moves me, but the next filler track, "I Did What I Did" is really good and worthy of repeat listens. The title track of the album is next and it's one of the best on the cd. The "ee-i-ee-i-o" in the chorus is weird, but doesn't hurt the track, I don't think. "Girl Jesus" is next, which taking it's cue from Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" uses imagery from the life of Jesus to make it's point. I know a few christians who were offended by the lyrics, and I have to admit they bothered me a bit too. However, I'm pretty thick-skinned, so I can appreciate what they're trying to do without getting too bent out of shape about it. Not only that, I think this song has the best sound on the album. Again, taking a cue from Depeche Mode, the song starts out with feedback, similar to "Feel You." This is one of the harder songs on the album with substantial guitar and tough beats, but it really works. "Satisfied" and "Skin" are both a little more mellow, and have the feel of fillers to me. But the cds biggest hit, "Deep Sleep" follows them up. This is a really synth-heavy techno-influenced track, and has been called the "Send Me an Angel" of the cd. It doesn't really hold up as well as that song, but it is a very good track, and very danceble. It doesn't have any guitars and ties more closely with the older sound of Real Life than any other Happy song, which makes it possibly the most accessible song here. Two relatively slow songs finish the album up, "Learning How to Breathe" and "Meltdown". Both are nice tracks that highlight Sterry's ability to write catchy hooks. In fact, this is a new one for Real Life who's slower songs were usually relatively boring compared to their up-tempo dancey songs. There are two extra tracks on the cd, "Deep Sleep (Momentum Dance Mix)" and "Meltdown (Radio Edit)". Niether is particularly noteworthy. My final impression is that this is the best work Real Life has done yet, although that by no means implies that their earlier work isn't top notch. They've really eliminated the presence of boring filler tracks on the last two cds, and the new rougher, harder sound works well for them. They've also gradually become a little bit more commercially savvy, working a niche market, but filling it well.