8/10

Copenhagen’s HalfCutLemon return with 'This Ain’t Real', a nine-track voyage that pushes the boundaries of modern post-punk while retaining the raw intensity that first drew attention to the band. Produced by the legendary Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studio, the album is both an unrelenting punch and a sweeping exploration, blending chainsaw punk riffs with lush baroque textures in ways that feel daring yet organic.

The opening single 'Ointment' immediately sets the tone, delivering a jagged explosion that marries brash energy with a melodic undercurrent, capturing the band’s knack for channelling aggression without sacrificing emotional resonance. In contrast, 'The Sun Is Dying' demonstrates HalfCutLemon’s cinematic sensibilities of slow-burning, urgent, and haunting tones, proving that the band thrives just as well in spacious arrangements as they do in full-throttle chaos. Guest contributions from post-punk luminary Peter Peter and the ethereal Persille Ingerslev further expand the album’s palette, adding layers of texture and dramatic tension that push the band’s sound into unexpected territory.

Throughout the LP, HalfCutLemon navigate themes both timeless and urgent. Tracks like 'Fist' and 'Summers Gone' probe the turbulence of the contemporary world and the inexorable passage of time, while 'Up' celebrates human curiosity and resilience with a sense of exuberance rarely found in post-punk. The band’s ability to marry off-kilter rhythms with cinematic flourishes allows them to reflect on the present without surrendering to despair, creating a record that is emotionally complex yet viscerally immediate.

'This Ain’t Real' is HalfCutLemon at their boldest and most ambitious. It’s an album that thrives on contrasts; raw and refined, urgent and spacious, aggressive yet melodic. The result is a post-punk statement that not only captures the turbulence of today but also asserts the band’s place as one of Europe’s most compelling and inventive forces in contemporary rock.