Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Review Session: Real Estate's Real Estate

Real Estate by Real Estate

Usually, when someone says Jersey Shore I imagine over-tanned, under-mannered guidos dancing like fools and drinking wine coolers. And when someone says music from Jersey Shore, I think Springsteen or Bon Jovi. However, in the case of Real Estate its fuzzy beach bums playing psychedelic surfer rock. Real Estate started with covers of Weezer and The Strokes, but when it came to the task of creating their own original album they took a different direction. Their self-titled debut album is simply amazing. From the opening track Beach Comber to the closer Snow Days the album arches across emotions, situations, and musical qualities. Heavily influenced by other great Jersey Shore Indie rockers Yo La Tengo, they approached their first album with the idea of accumulating their own influences and putting together their own sound. When listening to the album you can hear elements of The Shins, Modest Mouse, The Beach Boys, Menomena, Bibio and Yo La Tengo themselves. Do not go into the album thinking they copied these bands, they don't at all. The merely use them as a guide to create a river-esque flow of great music. Real Estate uses crisp, intertwined guitars, a slow and steady bass, and drums to match throughout the album. The technical aspect of their music is exquisite, and their haunting lyrics are apparent in each and every track. The band's chemistry is obvious as they play very reliable and appropriate tunes for the album. Real Estate's Real Estate is another amazing debut album in the year of 2009, but these guys are standing up to the best albums I have come across this year.

Rating = 8.6

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