With its jangly guitars leads, harmonies, and mellow sound, Real Estate sounds like a happy version of the Smiths. And even though the Smiths wouldn't be half as interesting if Morrissey was happy, it works out pretty well for this band. This is a gorgeous album, full of shimmering guitars and great vocals performances from Martin Courtney. "Had to Hear" is the album's highlight, offering the best of all these aspects while also proving (if you weren't already aware) that a great guitar solo doesn't have to melt your face off Eddie Van Halen-style. The instrumental "April's Song" is another surprising highlight, in that's it's a typical Real Estate song, but with no vocals, yet somehow manages to be better than most of the songs here that have vocals.
Real Estate is a very "nice" sounding band; there's no edge to this band, so if that's important to you, you won't be a fan of Atlas. But for those who like this style, few do it better than Real Estate.
Grade: B+
"Had to Hear"
No comments:
Post a Comment