On first impressions, it would be easy to write off Real Estate as flip-flop-clad copyists, all too happy to jump on the beach-pop bandwagon. The recent success of bands such as Girls and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart show how strongly audiences clamour for a musical summer holiday; unfortunately, ‘Days’ sometimes sounds more like being stuck on the M55 to Blackpool than a Venice Beach longboard tour.
That’s not to say Real Estate haven’t tried to keep matters summery and joyous here; opener ‘Easy’ is all lilting guitars and buoyant lyrics (“Around the fields we run/ With love for everyone”) and you can’t help but feel a little less angst-ridden after the delight that is lead single ‘It’s Real.’ The sound is clearer-cut than that of their 2009 self-titled debut, although it is evident that the band have made no effort to shrug off any of their low-slung, surf-garage niceties – not that this is a particularly bad thing.
The songs that make up Days are undoubtedly cohesive and simplistically catchy, all with the requisite floaty atmospherics to boot; the first half of the album is particularly sun-kissed and soothing. Despite this, though, the songs occasionally feel odd/ There is a fine line between a musical hat-tipping and unoriginality, and while part of the charm of songs like ‘Out of Tune’ may be the way in which they feel so familiar on the first listen, the result can come across as more of an effort to remain zeitgeisty than any genuine sense of homage.
Ultimately, Real Estate have created an album which is laidback but bordering on lackadaisical; although it is a collection of well-crafted, cheery songs that will assist you in your struggle against Fifth week blues, Days is far from revolutionary.
