Real Life Is No Cool

The Lindstrøm-produced album was released on January 18, 2010, in the UK and the following day in the United States, on the Oslo-based Smalltown Supersound label.

An exclusive edition containing a second disc which featured Lindstrøm's disco version of the Christmas classic "Little Drummer Boy", was available only from the London record store Rough Trade's website.

[19] Christabelle's voice was described as "sexy and whispering"[20] and Matthew Richardson in Prefix Magazine praised her contributions as being "alternately enthusiastic, aloof, earnest, and esoteric".

Most critics highlighted the track "Baby Can't Stop", noting the similarity to Michael Jackson's 1982 hit "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and his Thriller album.

[21][22] Louis Pattison in BBC Music described the experimental penultimate track "Never Say Never" as a "...whirl of backwards beats, twinkling harps and discombobulated vocals that’s both utterly disorientating and quite delightful."

[23] In an interview with XLR8R, Lindstrøm and Christabelle named the songs "Juicy Fruit" by Mtume, "Between the Sheets" by The Isley Brothers and "Computer Love" by Zapp & Roger as references for their work.