Real Estate: "It's Real"

If I purposefully deploy the word “chillwave” does that I mean I have to completely renounce the title of “human” and resign myself to a newfound identity as “douchey rock blogger?” Not only have I been actively avoiding that word for years, I’m acutely aware that it threatens to reignite the argument over what constitutes a discrete genre. So of course here is Real Estate’s newest single, “It’s Real.” It’s as if the title is saying, “yes, our aesthetic is a salient and definable thing, and this is it, again.” And given that the single dropped right before the impending Washed Out album and that Days will be released weeks after a new EP from Toro y Moi, the fledgling microgenre has in fact stood the test of three year’s time—a veritable eternity in the age of the blogosphere. This, of course, makes all arguments about classification and longevity moot. On the other hand, since we’re talking about chillwave, the lyrics are not of any importance, and the aforementioned titular “message” is merely an invention of my own mind.

Listening to Real Estate’s self-titled debut was like watching someone run in slow motion, but “It’s Real” is frontman Martin Courtney being shaken from his somnolence and singing with a newfound urgency. The eponymous Real Estate LP had viscous grooves that would stick between your ears and turn your brain into something resembling a melted popsicle. However, “It’s Real” suggests a forthcoming album that won’t be a soundtrack for smoke outs or navel gazing. Folks, this is one catchy single, and, hell, compared to a song like “Suburban Dogs” it’s an absolute barn burner.

But really, the only departure here is a more pointed guitar riff and less muffled vocals. This is the sound of a band emerging from underwater, shaking the moisture from their eardrums, and playing for three minutes before deciding to dive back in. The soaked-in-surf synthscape revealed in the chorus immediately eliminates any suspicions that Real Estate is rejecting their oeuvre and moving in the direction of a power-pop outfit. Songs like “Green River” have already placed Real Estate as “moderately chill” on a spectrum ranging from Washed Out (so chill) to Neon Indian (does this even count?), and “It’s Real” is merely an extension of a band finding their own niche within an increasingly heterogeneous genre.