Brand new single from The Real Anthem

Arizona-based band The Real Anthem have been making an impression as a band that works in the space between atmosphere and impact. Their sound brings together alternative rock, post punk, post rock and shoegaze styles, creating music capable of moving from reflective stillness into full-blown intensity, resulting in a unique output that’s always exciting. Forming the band is the trio os lead vocalist Shawn Helton, guitarist Andy Mitchell and multi-instrumentalist Matt King, whose work across guitar, bass, synth and drums gives the project its expansive character.

Despite being a relatively new name, The Real Anthem have been quick to map out their musical identity while winning over listeners around the world. Their debut single “Black & White Heart” revealed a band with a taste for memorable melodies, atmospheric textures and emotionally charged songwriting while follow-up releases including “See Angels,” “Worth” and “Heaven Come Down” continued to build on that picture, presenting an act equally comfortable with epic rock songwriting and more immersive, cinematic experiences.

The Real Anthem employ a cut-up style, synthesising ideas and rearranging words in order to heighten their emotional context. The songwriting leaves space for interpretation, using striking phrases to point towards deeper meanings beneath the surface of the world around us and that knack for ambiguity sits naturally alongside their music. Alternative rock provides the emotional frame, while post rock brings a sense of scale and shoegaze contributes layers of fuzz and texture, resulting in music that can feel at once close and enormous, capable of carrying a personal thought into something that feels truly cinematic.

Following recent singles “New Skies” and “Eyes Wide Open,” The Real Anthem now returns with the brand new single titled “Coming Home,” a release that brings those qualities together with an added sense of emotional tone. The song itself developed gradually, with Shawn spending time listening closely to the instrumental before finding the central chorus melody. That melody was created to complement the verse and bridge melodies written by Andy Mitchell, making the finished arrangement feel like the product of separate ideas finding their natural meeting point.

While the song isn’t overtly political, there are implications of global events and geopolitical awareness running underneath it. One interpretation offered by a band member connects the track to the experience of veterans returning from war, an idea that gives its title considerably more emotional gravity. Homecoming, after all, can mean something far more complicated than simply returning to a familiar place; it can involve trying to understand what has happened, reconnecting with the people waiting for you and discovering whether the place you left still feels like home.

Set up by the drifting of atmospheric texture, the crash of biting guitar riffs and punch of drums launches a smokey rock scene as smooth vocal leads glide in to deliver bright melodies above the pulsing arrangement. Flowing with delicate melodic leads, compelling vocal layers and energising instrumentation, the song surges into an enthralling bridge before progressing through a stripped back breakdown to instil an engaging sense of rise and fall throughout. Peppered with slick flashes of lead guitar and led by captivating vocal performance, “Coming Home” sees The Real Anthem deliver another spectacular rock moment.

Listen to Coming Home below

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