Real Estate

Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 17/02/12

I've stopped wondering how it is these young men in skinny jeans find their way to making music that harks back to an era well before they were born. It didn't used to happen. Maybe there's just less music to go round these days as all the chord sequences get used up. Maybe it's down to parents or older siblings with impeccable record collections and the commercial realisation that there is a huge market out there if a band can generate cross generational attention. This theory is reflected in the demographic at the Brudenell tonight. Boys and girls young enough to be my offspring and grizzled old fogies who have worked out that this is the closest they'll get to The Byrds (they even play a song called 'Younger Than Yesterday'). It's sold out and sweaty - and when the Brudenell does sweat there is no alternative but to resignedly stew in it.

Which is all doing Real Estate a disservice because they sound absolutely fresh and up to date with an energy and a determination far removed from the bloated egos that dogged some of the '60s groups who pioneered the early American guitar sound in the wake of The Beatles.

Their trademark is an atmospheric guitar effect that owes as much to Johnny Marr as it does to Roger McGuinn. A swell of major chords builds crescendos which create blissful, oceanic soundscapes that transport the songs in waves. It is underpinned by a propulsive and deleriously repetitive bass that lends heft and muscle to the floating voice of Martin Courtney. The drums skitter and then thud as momentum builds. The poppier tunes from their latest album 'Days' ('Easy', 'It's Real') sit nicely alongside their earlier, more indulgent work ('Suburban Dogs', 'Green River'). The music is clean cut and summery but underscored with a frightening professionalism - they are rehearsed to the hilt but the looseness of the song structures convey an instinctive, natural feel. Some of it feels improvised but is undoubtedly not.

They play for just over an hour, which in this unlikely February heat is probably no bad thing. Keep the audience wanting more -  no doubt they inherited that foolproof showbiz mainstay from the likes of the portly David Crosby who, if he's managed to see this band, would, I'm sure, approve.

Here's a nice little YT clip, thanks to JuneJuneJune for it