By: Ross Edwards
Rating: 7/11

Real Estate is a New Jersey band with the ability to make even the catchiest, brightest melody sound melancholic.Founded solidly in the tradition of psychedelic rock, Real Estate incorporates some greatly appreciated strains of indie, folk, and even country into their style.The result is catchy, introspective, and mellow, if not always the tightest musical performance, but the group can certainly play what their music calls for.They succeed in giving the listener the feeling of sitting alone on a beach somewhere (a lot of their songs have to do with water, actually), and not necessarily one on earth.

Real Estate make no use of studio embellishments, but the shoddy quality of the recordings suit the band’s spaced-out, almost lazy, vibe. Their best tracks contain washed-out, layered guitar tones, understated percussion and beautiful, floating male vocals — the relationship between the standout song “Beach Comber” and the Beatles’ “Dear Prudence” is hard to ignore, complete with solo guitar breakdown and gradual fadeout. Another standout, “Black Lake” begins with a thick, wiry electric bass and sparse guitar strumming, and gives way to an old-school country verse-chorus song with a slide-guitar interlude.

Real Estate definitely seem to be onto something, perhaps influenced by Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear who also look to the history of rock for inspiration.Real Estate, however, have not realized their individual sound as fully as the previously mentioned folk-rock bands, but they are on the right track with well-crafted, emotional songs.