Weekly Release Spotlight: Real Estate
Posted on 10/23/2011
Real Estate
Days
Domino
Days
Domino
Days is an album about being there. It's an album that screams for solidarity; that even though the trio has left their hometown of Ridgedale, New Jersey, they've made an album that establishes their deep connection to the time they spent growing up along the winding streets of their little suburban town. Ya, suburbia is boring. Ya, there's nothing exciting going on or dangers lurking around corners. These guys acknowledge that they're not starving artsists (yet- they just moved to Brooklyn). They all had solid families, and their parents even like their music.
This album serves as a bold statement in the state of society today. Being overstimulated is alright. With a million different options persuading you at every turn, and the technological ability to creatively produce your every whim, this is an album that (with the addition of a little reverb to add a safe barrier to Courtney's vocals) is about as straighforward as can be. Especially with the reputation that precedes New Jersey, there's a potent combination of growing up in beautiful suburbia that creates such nostalgic yet motivational tracks (see Springsteen, Titus Andronicus, Vivian Girls) that admit the shortcomings of a safe upbringing yet provides the perspective that speaks to so many people across the nation. These songs are sweet. These songs are patient. These songs are comforting. As seen by guitarist Matthew Mondanile's side project Ducktails, his easygoing and adventurous guitarwork glides around Courtney's more standup rhythms, allowing Mondanile to weave in and out of sync. He is surely one of the artists whom we'll be acknowledging as one of the great guitarists of our time. Similar to Kurt Vile, Mondanile's meandering melodies are reminiscent of watching your best friend goof around on a playground when you're a kid- you know where he'll end up, but just not how he'll get there.
There is a deep beauty to this album. Each track has something new to say, without straying too far from their organic timbre. There is nothing contrived about this album. It's an album of friends experimenting with a sound that means a whole hell of a lot to them, speaking of situations that they've all shared. Following 2009's eponymous debut, the guitarist heavy band embodies the feeling of driving around with your best friends, driving in the same loops over and over just to pass the time before curfew. This is precisely the scenario in “Green Aisles,” where singer Martin Courtney frankly repeats “All those wasted miles/ all those aimless drives to green aisles/ our careless lifestyle that wasn't so unwise, no.” Days is an album that's not too sweet, not overtly bubble-gum poppy to turn your ear drums to cotton candy. There exists a tinge of melancholy in these chords, just enough to prove that these dudes are real people and embrace all parts of life, not just the cheery blissful side. But I guess that's why one of their standout tracks is “It's Real,” cause as cheesy as it sounds these fellas are the real kids on the block that you run into while grabbin a snack. Listen to it a few times while driving with your friends, and pretend that you won't be creating a lasting memory.
Stream: Real Estate - "It's Real"