Real Recordings

Release Date: April 17th 2024

Reviewed by: Joshua An15dre

RLY– Generation – EP (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

1. Love Me Or Not
2. Superpower
3. Safe & Sound
4. Ring The Alarm
5. Generation

While we have previously mourned the disbandment of Little Mix, and apprehensively supported Leigh-Anne’s foray into solo music, not to mention Perrie’s debut single “Forget About Us”; the question remains. Is there a new band to ‘replace’ Little Mix and for us to support and get behind as they reach for the stars and succeed just like Leigh-Anne, Perrie and Jade did? The answer to this question… is yes! RLY (acronym for Real Like You) is a British girl group consisting of Halle Williams, Virginia Hampson, Kellimarie Willis, Jess Folley, and Kyra West; and from their debut single “Love Me Or Not”, it’s clear that we as listeners and potential fans, are in for a wild and interesting ride!

We wanted to release Love Me or Not as our first single as it’s a song we all feel so proud of. When people listen to it, I think they will relate to that feeling of not knowing where you stand – could be with a lover, a friend, or your family. As hard as it is, sometimes in life you just have to lay your feelings on the line, be brutally honest and surrender yourself to being vulnerable.

RLY released their debut EP Generation a few months ago. However, there’s not much online about RLY. No.. scratch that, there’s plenty online on social media. They’ve got their facebook, Instagram and tiktok. But as I’m not a gen z-er, and am older than I feel (yes, I’m in my mid-thirties!), I’m not that savvy with social media, and hence there’s not much online that I can find useful. There’s not really any official press release that I can find about the project, no official interview that I can read, or even any other information except for the aforementioned social media sites and Wikipedia. But these girls, who competed and won in The X Factor: The Band, are very active on social media. They share their lives with us on the daily, and they’re good at what they do. But as we wait for an official press release about their upcoming full length album, whenever that may be; all we have are five songs packed together as an EP.

Opening with the lead single “Love Me Or Not”, I first was introduced to “Love Me Or Not” as a suggestion from YouTube on the home page one day, and I listened because… well, I just wanted to see as I thought they could be the next Little Mix. The rest is history, and though I am not an avid fan; I’m intrigued as to how their debut album will sound like, given that their harmonies are really tight, and their vocals are crazily awesome. The lyrical content of this song, which speaks about wanting to know if someone loves the persona or not (be it a romantic partner or a friend or a family member), is incredibly relatable as well; and though 5 singers might have been overkill, they sound very good here. “Superpower”, a pop melody through and through, is next, and features the group outlining how a recent break up actually helps them for the better, as they’ve now turned all of their ‘issues’ into ‘superpowers’; while the pulsating, engaging and musically dynamic melody “Safe And Sound” encourages us all to ride the wave of uncertainty and trust in the process of us being safe and sound in the end. “Ring The Alarm” delves deep into the semi-taboo topic of mental health, and outlines about how sometimes we can feel like the world is against us and like we’re unworthy of being loved (though there really isn’t any solution to the intense and explosive feelings we might experience!); while the confronting and revealing title track is as honest and as vulnerable as I’ve heard this year, with the girls concluding that generation Z and generation alpha are in a crisis and that we all need a step back and a big long look in the mirror to see if there’s anything at all that we need to change for the sake of betterment to society. I’m not well versed in each of the girls and how each sounds vocally. How could any of us be- it’s their debut EP!? I’m sure fans or ‘stans’ would know the 5 different voices inside and out though. But regardless; let’s celebrate the formation of a new girl group, and if their success is similar to Little Mix or Spice Girls; then we’ll hear these girls on the regular in the many years to come. Well done RLY, for a well-thought-out debut project, and I can’t wait to hear what’s next from you!

We are five women coming to terms with our ‘Generation’ and what that means. We are a group of friends in our early twenties who have chosen to be artists and write lyrics that tell our lived experience. Individually we have different stories and different issues, but come together to process them with RLY – we are all just women figuring this real life out!

Score: 4.5/5

RIYL: Sabrina Carpenter, Little Mix, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Halle, Tori Kelly, Cimorelli