Album: Real Estate - s/t

Album: Real Estate
Woodsist, 2009
Rating: ******* (7/10)

Real Estate popped onto most radars last winter due to some positive mentions from Stereogum and Pitchfork. After months of building a reputation, the band is set to release their full-length debut on Woodsist next week.

Now, it's not a secret that I was extremely bored by Real Estate when I first heard them. And I was also put off by their constant beach references - in the last year or two, everyone and their grandma has formed at least one shitty fake surf band, so song titles like "Beach Comber" and "Let's Rock the Beach" don't exactly warm my heart.

However, I was kind of misunderstanding Real Estate. Though they come from a scene dominated by lo-fi punks and lo-fi indie poppers and lo-fi garage rockers, Real Estate are a psychedelic pop band that borders on slowcore. When you come in expecting dreamy slowcore, it all makes a lot more sense. Their mellow, lazy tunes are reminiscent of fellow-New Jerseyians Yo La Tengo on a chill day, or even of Galaxie 500. Real Estate is all about druggy, spaced-out simplicity.

And they do that very well. Their vocals blend perfectly with gently ringing guitars and measured, muted drums. In the context of the album, the beach references are also secondary to general references to the suburban life of carefree New Jersey youth.

Unfortunately, like suburban life, Real Estate's music often does generate more boredom than enjoyment. The songs I first listened to by the band, "Fake Blues" and the highly-praised "Black Lake," are among the worst offenders on the album. If you're into extremely mellow stuff, I'm sure they're great but they don't hold my attention. The more uptempo "Beach Comber" and "Snow Days" are the standout tracks for someone like me.

Ultimately, I have to lament that yet another non-edgy band will make it into the spotlight this year. There is nothing unpleasing to the ear and nothing truly emotive in this music except maybe a vague nostalgia. Sure, it's enjoyable music to put your feet up to, but I'm gonna have to start organizing an airlift to drop distortion pedals over Brooklyn and North Jersey if I hear anything more relaxed than this. Wear a helmet?

[MySpace]

Album: Wye Oak - The Knot

Album: The Knot
Merge, 2009 (out TODAY!)
Rating: ****** (6/10)

It was less than a year ago that I (and many people) first heard Wye Oak, a noise-folk duo from Baltimore whose self-released 2007 album's 2008 re-release on Merge made my "Best of 2008" list. I only heard of them in conjunction with all the hullabaloo they generated at CMJ last year, a well-deserved but short-lived buzz.

This album may follow fairly closely on the heels of If Children, but it's got two years' worth of new material. That time didn't bring a significant departure from the band's earlier work, but it definitely shows more signs of artistic maturity. However, despite being more sophisticated, the album is ultimately a disappointment. Perhaps it wouldn't be if everything we already knew about Wye Oak hadn't let us know they have far more potential than what they've tapped here.

The album starts with a surprisingly bold and promising move, the almost dirge-like "Milk and Honey." It's a ballsy choice as an opening track, indicating a band confident in their identity and their vision. While If Children, like most releases by any band, eases you in to the music, The Knot tosses you in the deep end and you can either turn off your stereo or learn to swim.

Unfortunately, this only makes the shortcomings of the rest of the album worse. It's clear that there is some larger vision for the record, but the execution simply doesn't stand up to that. There are a few really amazing songs, starting with "For Prayer." But there are quite a few duds as well - both "Take It In" and "Tattoo" use scales to form a large part of their irritating, redundant melodies and neither manage to generate momentum.

The rest of the album is a similar jumble of bright ideas and disappointing decisions. "Talking About Money" has a slick beat. "Mary Is Mary" has an especially beautiful and subtle melody, one of the band's finest, and while it's undoubtedly one of the album's high points, the dramatic arrangement ultimately cheapens what could have been more profoundly effecting with more subtlety. "Siamese" has intriguing production and arrangement but subpar songwriting, while "I Want For Nothing" and "Sight, Flight" have adequate melodies but sonically, boast few memorable moments.

Though more mature than If Children, The Knot left me wanting much more. Wye Oak are phenomenally talented, and I wouldn't be surprised if, a little further down the road, we'll see something monumental from them. But the problem with knowing how much they are capable of is knowing how far short they've fallen. And with this album, that's pretty far.