There’s a pivotal moment in a conversation with Real Lies when everything clicks into place. It’s not limited to a single song or even the bold, provocative title of their third album, ‘We Will Annihilate Our Enemies’. It centers on the core of their artistry: a deliberate choice to find romance—genuine, imperfect, transient romance—in everything. From bus stops to breakups, Friday nights to feed fatigue, Real Lies consistently creates music that transforms the everyday into something cinematic. However, they claim this album is different.
“I spend a lot of time on my phone,” admits frontman Kevin Lee Kharas, “but once I realized I should approach the world from a fresh perspective and embrace all that I see… it became much easier than I initially expected.”
That philosophical shift resonates throughout ‘We Will Annihilate Our Enemies’, which is now available via TONAL. It’s an album born out of the challenges of digital disconnection, an overwhelming flood of information, and an almost compulsive desire for connection. Yet, it manages to convey hope. It combines humor, clarity, and above all, exhilaration—the kind of hard-won euphoria that has quietly made Real Lies iconic over the last decade.
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As they enter their thirteenth year as a band, Real Lies (Kharas and bandmate Patrick King) have navigated their fair share of false starts. A major label contract fell through at the last minute. A world tour with the Pet Shop Boys was cancelled because the dancers needed more time for costume changes. A global pandemic struck just as they were set to release their second album. However, this start-stop journey has paradoxically contributed to their growth. “This album was very different for us,” King explains. “The last one took six or seven years to write. This one came together in just one.”
Instead of toiling over individual tracks, the band experienced a surge of creativity—over 25 songs composed within a year. “By the end, we were writing with great fluency and confidence,” King continues. “We didn’t need to force anything. If a song didn’t resonate, we simply put it aside for the next opportunity.”
The outcome is an album that feels sharp, immediate, and emotionally robust. Tracks like ‘Loverboy’, ‘Wild Sign I Choose You’, and ‘LOVERWORLD’ shimmer with restless synths, digital textures, and poetic urgency. ‘Down And Out (Where E-Girls Dare)’ humorously critiques contemporary archetypes, while ‘Shulgin’ weaves late-night reflections into hazy breakbeats. There’s a newfound vitality here—not just in the tempos but in the duo’s outlook.
“This album features more high energy, more uptempo tracks,” says King. “We incorporated more samples, faster beats. We allowed ourselves to be satisfied with the outcome of a song and just move forward. That was a new experience for us.”
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The title itself invites discussion. ‘We Will Annihilate Our Enemies’ is attention-grabbing—bold, confrontational, and somewhat unhinged. Yet, like much of Real Lies’ work, it’s layered with irony and depth. “I initially had a working title—‘Sinking City’—which was derived from a lyric in the last album,” Kharas shares. “But it felt too generic, like something people would expect us to name an album. It didn’t feel authentic.”
He then considered the challenge of capturing attention—how elusive it can be and how everyone competes for attention within the same small spaces. “It doesn’t matter what you do anymore. Whether you’re in a band or something different, you’re up against everything from thirst traps to football skills, war footage, public transport altercations… the list goes on.” He laughs. “It’s not like the old days when you only competed with other bands. Now, it feels like everyone is tossed into the same shark tank.”
So, he did what any artist facing chaos would do: he jotted down the most provocative phrase he could think of and provided it with context. “The title truly makes sense when placed alongside the album cover—that stunning kiss against a lovely sunset. It brings the entire concept into focus for us. Romantic defiance—that’s the essence we aimed for.”
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That concept crystallizes in ‘Finding Money’, the album’s standout duet featuring Jessica Barden, known for her roles in Dune: Prophecy and The End of the F*****g World. It offers a sarcastic, bittersweet perspective on modern dating and the broken promises of late-stage Britain, portraying a dream exchanged between strangers on a night bus—real, fleeting, and painfully relatable.
Set to shimmering synths and pulsating beats, ‘Finding Money’ perfectly captures the tension present in Real Lies’ music: how to live—and love—meaningfully in a distracted world. It represents the sound of
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There’s a point in the discussion with Real Lies where everything comes together. It’s not just about one particular song, nor is it solely the striking, sharp title of their third album.