Faux Real Up the Ante with New Single, 'Hi Tension'

Following an action-packed summer of international shows, Faux Real have returned to share “Hi Tension.” Available now via City Slang Records, the latest single from the visionary Los Angeles-based Franco-American art-pop duo previews their debut record, Faux Ever, due October 11, 2024. Today’s track mixes pulsing synths with the Faux Real’s signature high-voltage melodies, bringing cutting lyrics to the forefront over-revving engines and punk-tinged riffs. An official music video for the song also premieres today, featuring brothers Elliott and Virgil Arndt having a literal record-breaking party in the desert, complete with flamethrowers, dirtbikes, and the biggest moth you’ve ever seen.

“This is a song that was originally written in 2020, to disrupt the stillness of lockdown - we love how full-on it is, unapologetically shiny, mischievous and disjointed,” say Faux Real. “We’ve always been drawn to the daredevil figure in American lore, it’s kind of a theme throughout the album. This was one of our attempts at capturing its bold, brash and burning spirit. Often we start imagining a video because we feel the themes jump out at us — with ‘Hi Tension’ we could almost “see” the song as much as hear it.”

True alternative jesters infiltrating the pop space, Faux Real continue to blur the line between the fake, the real, and the undeniable. Coming off a nonstop European tour that featured appearances at festivals like The Great Escape, Best Kept Secret, Wide Awake, and The Echo Festival, this summer the duo was featured on electropop icons Metronomy’s new single “Contact High” alongside Franco-Korean artist Miki. Metronomy’s Joe Mount said of the collaboration, “I can’t detach myself from the song. I hear ‘Contact High’ and I think ‘wow I’m involved with this!’ I can listen to it again and again.”

This year, the songs “Walking Away From My Demons,” “Love On The Ground,” “Rent Free,” and “Faux Maux” heralded Faux Real’s long-awaited debut album, Faux Ever, arriving at last via City Slang on Friday, October 11. The album sees the fraternal duo continuing to play on the outskirts of language and sound, exploring themes of heartbreak, labor, and the home with harmonies and humor, playful beats, and en franglais. Recorded between Paris, New York, London, Los Angeles, and Provence, Faux Ever thrusts Faux Real’s sultry, surreal, and unclassifiable sound towards a glossier pop horizon, an existential sonic pastiche with a glistening digital sheen.

Tracklist:

1. Faux Maux

2. Rent Free

3. Sketches Of Pain

4. Love On The Ground

5. The More I Know

6. 99 Ghosts

7. Walking Away From My Demons

8. Hi Tension

9. Workhorse

10. Full Circle

11. Scratch

“It feels pretty insane to finally announce our first full-length record,” says Faux Real on Faux Ever via Instagram. “Been a while in the making and we couldn’t be more excited with how it turned out. After years of work between different studios, homes and cities, we like to think we’ve encapsulated the true essence of Faux Real into these 11 songs. We’d like to thank all of you for your continued support since the start of this journey. We promise it was worth the wait. For now, go blast Love On the Ground, buy tickets to our upcoming tour and come witness the premiere of Faux Ever in its rawest, most unhinged form.”

Faux Ever also includes such certified bangers as the bold, glitchy, and infectious “Rent Free” and the acclaimed “Faux Maux,” both available everywhere now alongside self-directed official music videos streaming now on YouTube. “We’re always questioning things and turning them upside down,” says Elliot Arndt.

“Our sound has never been more personal,” says Virgile Arndt. “The method to this specific madness has been one of constant change, with our studio locale never fixed, always more minimal than the last. Faux Ever is a reflection on art, brotherhood, authenticity, faults and triumphs.”

Known far and wide for their DIY, Iggy Pop-meets-Eurodance live performances, Faux Real are building anticipation for Faux Ever with international shows in the UK and US, along with an extensive international tour this fall supporting labelmates and instrumental British quartet Los Bitchos. A complete list of US tour dates are below, with more to be announced soon. For updates, please visit isthisfauxreal.com.

FAUX REAL 2024 TOUR DATES 

SEPTEMBER

22 - Black Cat - Washington, D.C. #

23 - Underground Arts - Philadelphia, PA #

25 - Heaven Can Wait - New York, NY

26 - Piccolo Rialto - Montreal, QC †

29 - Great Hall - Toronto, ON #

OCTOBER

1 - Crocodile - Seattle, WA #

3 - Teragram Ballroom - Los Angeles, CA #

20 - Button Factory - Dublin, IE #

22 - The Grove - Newcastle, UK #

23 - Summerhall - Edinburgh, UK #

24 - QMU - Glasgow, UK #

25 - Irish Centre - Leeds, UK #

26 - O2 Ritz - Manchester, UK #

28 - Junction 2 - Cambridge, UK #

29 - The 1865 - Southampton, UK #

30 - SWX - Bristol, UK #

NOVEMBER

1 - Concorde 2 - Brighton, UK #

2 - Lido - Margate, UK #

07 - O2 Forum - London, UK #

12 - La Cigale - Paris, FR #

13 - Stereolux - Nantes, FR #

14 - Epicerie Moderne - Lyon, FR #

15 - Locomotiv - Bologna, IT #

16 - Mascotte - Zurich, CH #

18 - Strom - Munich, DE #

19 - Wuk - Vienna, AT #

21 - Palac Akropolis - Prague, CZ #

22 - Festsaal - Berlin, DE #

23 - Niebo - Warsaw, PL #

25 - Knust - Hamburg, DE #

27 - Debaser - Stockholm, SE #

28 - Cosmopolite - Oslo, NO #

29 - Pustervik - Gothenburg, SE #

30 - Small Vega - Copenhagen, DK #

DECEMBER

2 - Burgerweeshuis - Deventer, NL #

3 - Gebaude 9 - Cologne, DE #

4 - AB Box - Brussels, BE #

6 - Paradiso - Amsterdam, NL #

07 - Aeronef - Lille, FR #

# - w/ Los Bitchos

† - Festival performance

Photo Credit: Daniel Everett

To post a comment, you must register and login.