Beloved New Jersey indie rock band Real Estate recently made their long-awaited return with their sixth studio album Daniel. Their previous album The Main Thing was released almost exactly four years ago, a mere couple of weeks before the world effectively shut down due to the pandemic. Around this time, the band also saw the departure of longtime drummer Jackson Hollis and picked up Sammy Niss in his place. All of these things as well as a reduced touring schedule seem to have led to Daniel, which is surprisingly the band’s poppiest offering to date but definitely not the kind of musical change-up that would put off diehard fans. Lucky for us, Real Estate is also back on the road with a full-fledged tour, and on Sunday, March 3rd they brought one of the earliest tour stops to Portland, Oregon for a show at Revolution Hall.
Following a brief opening set from Florry – a rambling ensemble that sounded like someone intentionally trying to bastardize the alt-country sounds of the Jayhawks and Gram Parsons – Real Estate took the stage and kicked off their ninety-minute set with the upbeat “Somebody New.” The positive vibes began flowing with the dreamy “Easy,” while “Had to Hear” saw Julian Lynch injecting the band’s distinctive, breezy guitar sound with bright jammy flourishes over the calming groove. Part of the appeal of Real Estate has always been the way the band can ease into a flowing and often jangly rock sound that is simultaneously mellow and buoyant. Martin Courtney’s straightforward vocals convey a sense of calm and tie it all together, as was the case on “Darling,” “Freeze Brain,” and the more exploratory “Flowers.” Following the melancholy cool of “Municipality,” the band would bring together synth-driven 80s vibes with a yacht rock style on “Paper Cup” only to follow it up with their catchy, pop-leaning new single “Water Underground.” “Say No More” was frenetic and vibrant, while Alex Bleeker would lay down a deliciously pleasant bass line to complement Courtney’s twelve-string jangle on “Half a Human” to make for one of the jammier moments of the night. The band kept the momentum going with the spunky guitar-groover “Talking Backwards,” and would later use warm-hearted acoustic strumming to give “Interior” a sound strongly reminiscent of Big Star before closing out with their quintessentially mid-aughts indie anthem “It’s Real.”
Despite drums, bass, keys and vocals being somewhat low in the mix throughout the night, Real Estate delivered a performance that captured the spark they still have. Those who have been fans of the band going back more than a decade surely felt a burst of nostalgia for a simpler, perhaps more creative indie rock era, while fans old and new couldn’t resist the infectious quality of the songs off Daniel. Ultimately, Real Estate’s performance in Portland was an exciting affirmation that the Jersey gang is back in action.
