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CD Reviews

Real Estate | Days

Domino (2011)

By RYAN REED | October 18, 2011

3.0 Stars

"Easy," the rousing opener from Real Estate's sophomore studio effort, certainly has an appropriate title. Not a single second on the strummy psych-pop stunner (nor any of these other nine sleepy gems) remotely connotes a feeling of difficulty. This New Jersey quartet is one well-oiled muscle, and they flex it to hypnotic effect for 40-plus minutes. It's a subtle, intimate sound, dominated by the guitars (played by co-vocalists Martin Courtney and Matthew Mondanile), which are splattered with homemade reverb, barely rising above a haze — even when you crank the volume. The lyrics are mostly pleasant afterthoughts ("It's OK, it's alright/Because the day is just another night"), so it's no surprise that instrumental jam "Kinder Blumen" is such a stand-out. Dig those oceanic percussion clicks, lightly flanged yacht-rock guitars, snare hits as mighty as kitten yawns — even the damn tambourine sounds positively beachy. The driving surf-kraut closer "All the Same" is an eternity of whitewashed interlocking six-strings that bubble bigger and bigger but never pop; for seven-and-a-half spaced-out minutes, Real Estate relentlessly chug away at one sparkling melodic motif. It's like getting a mild headache from using too much Splenda, a gentle back massage that gradually starts to sting.

Big Troubles | Romantic Comedy
I was worried when I heard that '80s jangle-pop maestro Mitch Easter was producing Big Troubles' second album.
Review: Screaming Females | Castle Talk
Screaming Females are one of those rare examples of a band who fester so long in the dark — in this case, the teeming basements of New Brunswick, New Jersey — that they sour into something great by the time anyone’s heard of them.
KT Tunstall | Tiger Suit
The KT Tunstall of Tiger Suit is tougher, louder, and more electronically endowed than the KT Tunstall of its poppy predecessor, 2007's Drastic Fantastic , and Eye to the Telescope three years before that.
The Sounds | Something To Die For
The recent news that British electronic act Faithless have called it a day no doubt left dejected ravers reaching for extra MDMA to stave off the tears.
Dum Dum Girls | Only In Dreams
Kristin Gundred, a/k/a Dee Dee, is no actual dum dum, so she made good where Vivian Girls didn't.
Twin Sister | In Heaven
It's one of 2011's finest pop records: 10 tracks of dreamy, weirdo hi-fi pop that grooves, sparkles, and hums with clipped beats and smooth drums.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah | Hysterical
Deploying the magic touch of indie producer-superhero John Congleton, these five musicians have never sounded more like a rock band, and these 12 spacious, dreamy excursions benefit from the added muscle.
Bjork | Biophilia
What the hell is Biophilia ?
The Good Natured | Skeleton
The seven-song Skeleton EP is a combination of two previous import EPs, sounding already like an immediate best-of, compiling six Good Natured studio tracks and a (throwaway) remix.
Fountains of Wayne | Sky Full of Holes
Sky Full of Holes, the first Fountains album in four years, is another reminder of why the band deserve some limelight of their own.
Grace Jones | Hurricane
Seriously: you'll probably refuse to believe me when I say that a one-time Bond villainess is behind this near-masterpiece, a collection of way-heavy grooves packed with wit, wisdom, and ballsier-than-ballsy vocal takes.
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Topics: CD Reviews , Music, New Jersey, Real Estate, More

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