SHAZAM

Real Estate crystallize their entire attitude and approach in a single phrase off of Days: “I’m not OK, but I guess I’m doin’ fine.” This feeling of pleasant entrapment permeates the band’s second album from its sound down to its lyrical subjects. Working with producer Kevin McMahon, Real Estate give their music a coat of polish that makes their jangly guitars, sighing melodies, and complex harmonies glisten. Days’ manicured ennui presents one partly cloudy song after another, all with the nagging feeling that things aren’t quite right lingering in the background. “It’s Real” looks for a way out of this lower-case sadness with extra poignancy; “Green Aisles” envisions suburban tracts as a giant supermarket; “Out of Tune” could be a theme song for perennial misfits; and “All the Same” expresses its feigned indifference with riffs and rhythms worn at a jaunty angle. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi