Real Estate

With their second LP, Days, Real Estate prove they have more to offer than the beach-bum aesthetic they established on their self-titled debut. On Days, the New Jersey indie rock band further explores the range of moods they initiated in their self-titled debut: summery youthfulness, nostalgia and down-and-out emotional detachment, using poetic lyrics and an impressionistic sonic landscape. However, Real Estate now expands their boundaries with a display of playful chemistry and synchronized instrumentals.

With its accessible beat, crisp guitar riffs and muted vocals, “Easy” sounds like a mellow reincarnation of a Beach Boys song. “Kinder Blumen” uses a wood clapper, scraper and tambourine to capture an easy, cheerful tune to hum while dancing on the beach with friends. “Green Aisles” is marked with moody nostalgia—“All those wasted miles/ All those aimless drives through green aisles/ Our careless lifestyle, it was not so unwise, no.” Its meditative, shimmering guitar tones, showcased in a minute-long instrumental break, evoke dormitories, mountains of maple leaves, street lights and haunted houses. “Municipality” is similarly poetic, conjuring images of roses and gardens of suburbia, interspersed with catchy guitar jams. Real Estate show a new range in “It’s Real” which, through its fast-paced beat and repeated chorus of rising voices, captures more energy and urgency than any other track.

Although Days evokes sentiments and sounds typical of indie rock, Real Estate come through with a cohesive interplay of colorful lyrics and refreshing spontaneity, showing that they’re not just cashing in on the genre.