REAL ESTATE – Days (Part 4)

In Part 4, Sarah daydreams about what shape Days might take in human form. Then she gets a grip and discusses the highlights of the album and has an epiphany that Real Estate sounds kind of like Beulah if Beulah chilled out a little bit.

Real Estate – “It’s Real”

Full album stream available at NPR.

From: Sarah Braunstein
To: Chris Mollica

Well Chris, I’ve spent the last 24 hours considering what the phrase “do I have to clockwork orange you” means. I have many guesses and none of them are pleasant. I’ll cut to the chase: you do not have to get all Kubrick on me. I like The Beach Boys in the same way I like a lot of the bands I grew up hearing on the radio and spinning on my dad’s record player, favorites being The Zombies, The Mamas & the Papas, and The Box Tops. When I said I don’t like beach music, I should’ve specified that it’s the more recent beachy stuff that doesn’t really hold any appeal for me.

But I’m glad we worked through our differences and I agree with you; one of the great things about Days is that it doesn’t care about enticing the listener. There’s a confidence on this album that I find attractive and didn’t sense on the first Real Estate LP. But they’re not all in-your-face about it. There’s no boasting; there’s just impeccably intertwined guitar lines, a solid and dependable-sounding rhythm section, a sprinkling of hooks, and vocals that are compelling but never overshadow the instruments. If this album were a dude in the bar, I might not notice him at first. He’d probably be dressed in something that looks unassuming but is actually quite complex and deliberate (like some really inventive layering for chillier temperatures). He’d be drinking a small-batch Scotch, something that won’t break the bank but is recognized for its quality and depth. He’d make friendly eye contact but probably wouldn’t come over and lay down a character-diminishing pick-up line. I’d want to talk to him.

I’ll stop myself from making “guy in the bar” analogies for each of the tracks on Days. After all, we’re trying to gain readership. But if anyone reading this is still trying to figure out what to love about Days, I’ll go into some of my favorite parts. First, the guitar lines in “It’s Real.” I tried to pick one particular moment in this song but it’s the whole thing, really. The two guitar lines (at least I think there are two of them) sound like they’re chasing each other around a playground. They run up and down steps, twirl and loop, rest for a second and then pick it back up. It’s fun. Then there’s “Out of Tune.” This might be my favorite song on Days. It’s got a nice twang, the vocals make good room for instrumental breaks, the lyrics are simple, well-crafted little things that seem to carry this album’s weight in melancholy  (“You play along to songs written for you, but you’re all out of tune”). And I love “Municipality.” It sounds a like a chilled-out version of something that could be on a Beulah album. Martin Courtney croons “how can I feel free when all I want is to be by your side in the municipality?” and a little piano and backup vocals sweeten the deal. I’m smitten.

Chris, we started this conversation in a very different headspace than the one we’ve ended in. It sounds like you’ve found a new soundtrack for those drunken headstands of yours and, well, I’ll keep my fingers crossed that I run into the male-human form of Real Estate’s Days in one of my local bars.

“It’s okay, It’s all right, Because the day is just another night”
Sarah

P.S. It’s Brandon’s birthday! Did you wish him a good one?

Get the new Real Estate album Days here:
Domino |  Insound Vinyl | Amazon