Real Numbers Are Back With The Most Confident Record They’ve Made Yet

Minneapolis’ Real Numbers have always worn their influences openly, and Was It Always This Way is them leaning fully into that lineage. Think Field Mice, think St Christopher, that late eighties and early nineties UK indiepop feeling of jangle, strum, and quiet ache running underneath everything.

Across ten songs, the record balances hope and despair without ever tipping too far into either, and it feels like a genuine refinement of what the band have been building towards over their previous releases. If you’re already into Ducks Ltd, Chime School, or The Umbrellas, this slots right in alongside them.

Slumberland Records are releasing it August 14th on standard black vinyl, no complicated variants to track down here, just a solid pressing of a genuinely strong record. Preorders are open now.

This is exactly the kind of release we’d rather you preorder direct on day one than stumble across months later at a markup because nobody told you it existed. Sign up to our free weekly newsletter and we’ll make sure that never happens.