Days
by Real Estate

From Repo TOP 100 COMMENTER 03/29/2017 17:29 | #188360 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Growing up ain’t easy. Not even for rich college kids. And it seems our boys have had their hearts handed to them once or twice since their shimmering debut. There is a haze of melancholy that hangs over this album. Plus, the crisp pace and immediacy of the debut is traded in for a more lazy, nonchalant sound as the songs take a decidedly more leisurely approach to their destination. They've expanded their sound a bit too it seems and started dosing on a steady diet of kiwi rock as well which fits in well with their other jangle pop influences. Besides the songs being a bit more consistent on this one, both albums are excellent and complement each other nicely.

Grade: A. As Daydreamer recently pointed out, this is quite a different album from their debut. More spacious, pensive and considerably slowed down from the preppy, assured jangle pop of their debut. I can’t really decide which one I like best as they are both excellent and I’d even say essential modern jangle pop. I’m going to flip a coin and put this one slightly ahead of the debut, but I now consider their debut an essential Real Estate album since it does have such a different sound.

I feel that every bad thing you'll hear about this album is true. Bland, inoffensive, boring, uninteresting, too indie, musical wallpaper (almost like Coldplay hehe... Except P4k likes it), ... Nothing on the album really stands out, neither musically, nor lyrically. At the same time it is one of the most enjoyable experiences of the year for me and right now I don't feel like listening to anything else. It's an album to "chill" to. And it seems a bit unsuitable for winter time, I think this screams "a summer album" like no other.
My current rating reflects my current mood about this album, and it could change to worse if I get tired of it soon. But as I said, this is something to play when I'll need something to chill to, maybe when driving somewhere or whatever, and right now it just feels as the best thing ever made for such "purpose".
Ugh.. it's ridiculous really, I should be making fun of it... "Oh Whoa Whoa Whoa Oh Oh It's real" , "La la la la municipality, whoa oh not anything like my reality...."
hahahahaha god I love it
85/100

From maitredj 01/02/2012 17:14 | #34204 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

A slow burner, that demands repeat listens.
BUT, here's my initial response.

Sounds like 'old school' indie from the 80's, but without the pretensions & an image declaring their identity.
There is Smiths-like guitars here, but on 'Days' they are used to add texture rather than statements.
A lot of the songs have a 'samey-ness' without having any obvious hooks to separate them. The vocals are not in the forefront, preferring to tone and layer, rather than dominate.
It is this sound that identifies Real Estate. A unified tension, dense and well grounded, where a wave of jingles and jangles wash over. They avoid being twee or transparent.

In this sense, they are closer in style to bands like 'Felt' (but less nocturnal and more pastoral.)

Somehow I think that whatever Real Estate do after 'Days' will be what will makes or break them.
(Maybe I need to live with this album a bit longer before making that statement)
They have amazing potential and a refreshing integrity. They deserve to be heard.

Definitely a band that I will be watching in the future.

From johnner TOP 100 COMMENTER 07/28/2012 15:42 | #47372 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Like many of the dream-pop bands of their ilk Real Estate make albums where no particular song radically departs from the other. Instead, Days Byrdsian jangle prefers to paint an evocative all-encompassing mood. That being said each song has it's merits playing it's part in the rich tapestry intricately woven by the band.

I couldn't wait for this album to end. Filled with 10 songs that are so similar to one another that you can easily lose the progression of the album within each track's sameness and feel as though you have just heard the same song over and over again. Very bland, mono-dynamic, and surface level music that doesn't provide any real incentive to listen to the album again. The musical equivalent of taking a long stroll on a gigantic, empty beach and having nothing happen to you for hours. I hated this shit ahahahah