There’s something about the band Real Estate. When you listen to their music–their dreamy, vintage, lonely road trip trips that are doused with sunshine and nostalgia–you can’t help but to fold in a little bit, start reflecting on things like love and life, and feeling like (kind of no matter what) things will actually turn out pretty fine.
For these Jersey boys, their first self-titled album was released back in 2009, and quickly afterwards, as their songs caught the attention of fans and press, they performed major festivals like Pitchfork and Primavera Sound, and also went on tour with bands like Woods, Deer Hunter, and Kurt Vile. They released three more albums since their fresh start–the first called Days in 2011, Atlas in 2014, and In Mind which was released just this year (and also included a small lineup switch).
Real Estate finds a new energy with each of their records–songs that pop in between their usual laid-back sound, which you can especially hear on “Easy,” “Talking Backwards” and “White Light” off each of their records. But changing their sound just a bit is inevitable when you’ve been a band for so many years, and on their latest record release you’ll find them explore new territory, as they begin to make sense of their surroundings, where they’ve been, where they’re going. To really understand their mission on this record, listen to the song “Two Arrows” as they sing, “Two flashlights out in the night will get you home. Walking under the night’s punctured dawn. I know we’re bound to leave this town. There’s other there, although I know we go, I know not where.” It’s classic Real Estate.
*(Their first show at Brooklyn Steel on May 17 has already sold out, so they’ve added a second show on the 21st. Get tickets soon before this sells out, too.)
Brooklyn Steel
5/21
w/ Frankie Cosmos
8 p.m.
$22