Reality Club - “Am I Bothering You?”

SXSW 2024 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 9

Pairs Well With…Lawrence, The Shins, illuminati hotties

First thing worth noting is since last checking in with Reality Club pre-pandemic, the Indonesian indie rock band has risen sharply in popularity with hundreds of millions of streams for hit “Anything You Want” and the rest of their latest full-length Reality Club Presents…. An engrossing croon combined with razor-tight, alt-rock patterns, Reality Club has tightened up while still giving off breezy vibes on their breakthrough record, cozy and comfortable and guided by sharp, power-pop lanes. Clean edged and minimal to the degree that nothing sounds excessive on Reality Club Presents…, they’re a great SXSW band as they have tons of global listens, but don’t even have a Wikipedia page yet, that weird middle zone that can exist before a band hits full ubiquity. (Kevin McStravick)

2020 Review: Indonesian indie rock/pop band Reality Club play an upbeat, breezy form on 2019 sophomore record What Do You Really Know?, filling every corner of their sound with a mix of garage pop, chamber rock, and some chillwave coolness. Raw-voiced ballads (“A Sorrowful Reunion”, “Alexandra”) balance the band’s moody/sunny-mixed tracks that comprise most of the album, either way performed with intention and adding some nice production flourishes like the spoken voice accommodating highlight track “2112”.