Real Estate Becomes A Buyer's Market With Latest Release "Atlas"

Atlas the third full-length album from real life Jersey boys, Real Estate, is a welcome addition to their growing musical cannon. Having just started in the late Aughts, three proper albums in less than five years (with two on the venerable Domino Recording Company) is quite an accomplishment. At this point in their career, one starts to consider the word longevity which sounds odd as half a decade doesn’t seem long enough to justify that notion. However, the proof is in the songs on this album which are incredibly strong with proper hooks, sing-along choruses and hummable melodies (if you do that sort of thing). Regardless of the fickle attitude of the genre in which they began, indie rock, where a band can rise and fall in a week’s time- their radio friendly vocals and underlying pop sensibilities guarantee an audience for this band until they make the decision to pull the plug.

Atlas has everything this band does well; instrumentals (April’s Song), ready for radio singles (Talking Backwards) and showcasing their original sound (Had To Hear). Honestly, there isn’t one song on this record that doesn’t have at least one part that will stick in your head for days to follow. Currently, I am having difficulty getting the closing guitar line of the song “The Bend” out of my head. It’s pretty much a dead ringer for a Jimmy Page in his heyday riff but different enough that it wouldn’t hold up in court. Another band that Real Estate would list as an influence, Pavement, also have a certain guitar line in the song “Type Slowly” which seems to pay homage to the same muse. Don’t feel bad for Jimmy Page though, he notoriously ripped off many an artist in his time- Jake Holmes, the band Spirit and the whole of the Mississippi Delta Region- so this only seems fitting.

Originally released earlier this year in March, Atlas seems to be finding its stride right as summer is starting to take hold for its annual three month reign. This is a perfect compliment to the season- floating guitar lines, breezy melodies and a laid back feel that subconsciously decompresses everything between your headphones. Not that this is a surprise, or more specifically, not as surprising as Real Estate’s self-titled first album on Woodsist Records. A debut record that was a revelatory breath of fresh air at the time. It was also the introduction to many of their particular New Jersey music scene that found it’s way onto the Underwater Peoples record label. A home to Real Estate’s first single and band member’s other projects such as Ducktails and Alex Bleeker and the Freaks as well as solo material from Andrew Cedermark of Titus Andronicus and ethnomusicologist/guitarist Julian Lynch just to name a few. The songs on Real Estate’s debut lp were rough around the edges but the pop heart of each song jumped out of the speakers. It turned out to be the perfect snapshot of talented musicians finding their sound while simultaneously realizing the vastness of their possible future. Their second record Days was a typical sophomore album, positively reviewed but not as strong as their first, yet it found them making strides in other areas. Outwardly, by signing to Domino which upgraded their marketing and distribution, and inwardly by solidifying their line up with the exit of drummer Etienne Pierre Duguay and the entering of his replacement Jackson Pollis along with an additional guitarist/keyboardist (currently Matt Kallman).

Atlas finds Real Estate at their most confident, polished and professional. Their upcoming tour brings them to the New York City area playing the largest local venue of their career to date. At album three, their appeal appears to still be growing and expanding while, most importantly, finding a path outside of the “buzz bin” (to borrow a term from the 90s) indie music scene that is a notorious runaway bride. While their music is rooted in pop, it displays the best possible uses of the term, creating catchy and memorable songs that do not fall out of favor and become disposable six months down the road. Like a photovoltaic cell, this band has done nothing but increase its power with their time in the limelight allowing them to be at their strongest and most self-assured at the exact right time. Quality musicianship and flawless career steps seem to scream that this band will continue to grow as the years melt away. In a heartbeat, a fifteen or twenty year career will be in their rear-view mirror. In that long career, Atlas will find its place in the band’s vast catalog as their first fully realized, classic album.