Out on March 4, New Jersey indie rock band Real Estate’s third album, Atlas, embraces the laid-back guitar rock that has brought it critical and popular acclaim. The album dives into darker territory than previous ones. Atlas marks the band’s first album in three years.
Clocking in at just over 38 minutes and 10 songs, Atlas is a short and sweet testament to the band’s well-recognized talent. This is the shortest of its three albums.
Atlas was recorded in just two weeks at Wilco’s Chicago studio, The Loft. Tom Schick, who lent his production skills, has worked with artists ranging from Norah Jones to Bob Dylan.
The attention garnered from Atlas is just the most recent, resulting from a string of highly acclaimed albums. The band’s first two albums — Real Estate and Days — have received high praise from reviewers and fans alike.
The record received an 8.8/10 score by Pitchfork and was recently featured under the albums category of Pitchfork’s “Best New Music” section. It also received a score of 77/100 on Metacritic.
Criticized by some as elevator music for the criminally hipster, Real Estate’s sound is not particularly complex, featuring many open chords, straightforward drumming and relatively simple bass lines.
However, Real Estate still manages to convey a sense of nostalgia and longing better than many of its peers. Its live shows also prove that it is more than just a garage band from the Garden State.
The band is also well known for the lightness of its music. However, Atlas most notably tackles darker thoughts and subject matter, while still capturing the feet-in-sand atmosphere of Real Estate’s past works.
Particularly, Atlas confronts uncertainty with one’s future, leaving the comfort of home for life beyond the suburbs.
The album opener, “Had to Hear,” aptly starts the record off by describing the beginning of a journey, both personal and physical, that is detailed throughout Atlas:
“I’m out again on my own,” singer/guitarist Martin Courtney begins.
Lead single “Talking Backwards,” carried by an infectiously upbeat guitar riff, continues to speak to the frustrations of isolation:
“I might as well be talking backwards / Am I making any sense to you?,” Courtney asks.
It is not hard to imagine “April’s Song” as a soundtrack for a windows-down drive on a summer day; it relieves fans from the album’s introspection for a few minutes by introducing a bright and catchy instrumental.
“The Bend,” one of the first songs to emerge from Atlas, is a perfect example of the Tiki- and sun-bleached style of Real Estate’s past work and one of the catchiest songs on the album.
To begin the second half of the album, “Crime” maintains the catchy rhythm while balancing the anguished undertones:
“Toss and turn all night / Don’t know how to make it right / Crippling anxiety,” Courtney sings.
Atlas closes with the steady-swinging “Navigator,” a retrospective:
“The day is young, but I’m already spent / I have no idea where time went,” Courtney admits.
An album primarily focused on looking forward healthily ends with a hard look at where one has been.
Atlas is in no way radically different from its predecessors. Altogether, the three albums share the same sonic style while slowly gaining lyrical and melodic maturity over the years. However, Real Estate has just proven that a successful work ethic does not deserve fixing.
Surprisingly, despite the successes of its three studio albums, Real Estate has managed to stay, for the most part, under the radar.
Even so, its consistency as a reliable indie band in a business dominated increasingly by pop, rap and dance is hopeful for the future of guitar rock.
Audiences should certainly consider this album, and spread the word to local radio stations.
The band hits the road this spring, traveling across the United States before making the festival circuit this summer.
Catch Real Estate live at the 9:30 Club in D.C. on April 2 ,or at the Union Transfer in Philadelphia on April 3.
