New Jersey formed five piece, Real Estate, turned up for me kind of out of the blue for me about a
year ago. They were shared to me on Dropbox, and after sitting there for a few months,
became my latest new find. Soon Pitchfork were all over them like an electric
blanket and they must have gained enough popularity to justify an Australian
tour. So, investing wisely in a ticket (invest, real estate, geddit???!) I went to
the Zoo on this Tuesday night with some rare-to-find fellow fans and got my
property development happening. (this is the last bad joke.)
Supporting the band were a couple of indie-sounding-bands, and we got there early enough to catch some of Feathers. A couple of girls who
look like they just discovered Warpaint and want to be their bffs, came
onstage and began to commence a set of very obvious indie girl pop tunes. They
were inoffensive and pleasant enough, but there was nothing really driving the
music that stood out from the Tegan and Sara’s of the rest of the music world.
They had similar musical stylings to that of Real Estate- summery, jangly pop
vibes, but again, none of it really gelled to me- I was a wee bit bored.
They didn’t play for too long however and soon it was Real Estate time. I immediately recognised lead singer Martin Courtney’s very indie haircut
(hello Dan Humphrey, the wavy dark mop may become trendy yet) which matched a lot of the audience's indie haircuts. This was a very pitchforkian occasion, but that’s
the beauty of hipster gigs- everyone is one, so the wank factor goes into 'so bad it's good' territory, and you don’t notice it as much. It was clear though
that everyone was here for the music, which, as they opened with "Fake Blues" from their first self titled album, was outstanding from the very beginning.
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| my one not shit photo. |
In fact, I don’t remember a time when the Zoo sounded quite
so good. The airy twang of the guitars and spacious drums were replicated
perfectly, if not better than on record, and the sound enveloped the venue with such crispness. "Fake Blues" was followed by "Easy", the opener of their latest well loved album 'Days', and I found myself extremely delighted when hearing the opening chords. Martin Courtney had the quiet sensual frontman thing down with little fuss or
fanfare, just pouring his soul into the words and chords. His voice was lovely
and heartfelt, with that slight echoey effect which is covered all over the album
tracks.
The songs churned out and each one had me bopping along even
more than the one before it. Popular new ones "It's Real" and "Out of Tune" oozed sweet breezy goodness and every pulse was on the mark.
Prior to the performance, a part of me had wondered how good this show was going to be, and if it may be one of the more boring shows of the year. WHY you ask? Well while Real Estate’s low-fi shoegazey pop is a celebrated thing right now, their music does have a very distinctive style that rarely crosses the boundary- and their second album is no great departure from their first. However, i realised just how much I enjoyed their songs as they played them, and their pristine production meant I was thoroughly, exceptionally entertained all the way through. It also says a lot about a band who can completely engage the audience not only with a catchy chorus accompanying pleasing music, but even while during their instrumental tracks, such as both incredibly melodic tracks "Kinder Blumen" and "Atlantic City" in which I found myself not even realising that there wasn't lyrics. That's what I think makes Real Estate a standout act, and why they have so much love at the moment; every instrument of their songs are tuned in perfectly with each other to collectively portray an outpour of emotion, encapsulated in every note, beat and chord. As a live band, they continue to do this effortlessly, and fed off each other like it was child's play.
Time went relatively quickly, and before we knew it it was encore time already. At this point, the song that got me completely hooked on the band, the debut opener "Beachcomber", had not been performed, and I was not the only one waiting for it. I completely expected it to start up when they (very quickly) came back onstage, but I was sadly disappointed, and instead, the slow burning "Suburban Dogs" was chosen from the same album. I couldn't help but miss "Beachcomber", but their chosen song still left us in a quietly content, contemplative mood, as we slowly emptied from the Zoo.
The greatest part of this gig was how much it made me appreciate their music more. I now have to stop myself from listening too much to both albums , as I have finally found a replacement for 'Watch The Throne' which is in now danger of being burnt out. I'm happy Real Estate exist and look to be not one of those 'so hot right now' indie darlings that burst onto the scene and then disappear, but a brilliant established band, that deserves its praise and a long progressive career. Well done indie kids!
Prior to the performance, a part of me had wondered how good this show was going to be, and if it may be one of the more boring shows of the year. WHY you ask? Well while Real Estate’s low-fi shoegazey pop is a celebrated thing right now, their music does have a very distinctive style that rarely crosses the boundary- and their second album is no great departure from their first. However, i realised just how much I enjoyed their songs as they played them, and their pristine production meant I was thoroughly, exceptionally entertained all the way through. It also says a lot about a band who can completely engage the audience not only with a catchy chorus accompanying pleasing music, but even while during their instrumental tracks, such as both incredibly melodic tracks "Kinder Blumen" and "Atlantic City" in which I found myself not even realising that there wasn't lyrics. That's what I think makes Real Estate a standout act, and why they have so much love at the moment; every instrument of their songs are tuned in perfectly with each other to collectively portray an outpour of emotion, encapsulated in every note, beat and chord. As a live band, they continue to do this effortlessly, and fed off each other like it was child's play.
Time went relatively quickly, and before we knew it it was encore time already. At this point, the song that got me completely hooked on the band, the debut opener "Beachcomber", had not been performed, and I was not the only one waiting for it. I completely expected it to start up when they (very quickly) came back onstage, but I was sadly disappointed, and instead, the slow burning "Suburban Dogs" was chosen from the same album. I couldn't help but miss "Beachcomber", but their chosen song still left us in a quietly content, contemplative mood, as we slowly emptied from the Zoo.
The greatest part of this gig was how much it made me appreciate their music more. I now have to stop myself from listening too much to both albums , as I have finally found a replacement for 'Watch The Throne' which is in now danger of being burnt out. I'm happy Real Estate exist and look to be not one of those 'so hot right now' indie darlings that burst onto the scene and then disappear, but a brilliant established band, that deserves its praise and a long progressive career. Well done indie kids!
9 tenancy agreements out of 10. (Sorry, I mean to say that was the second last bad joke.)
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