What with all the hoopla around the Drums a couple of years ago, New Jersey's Real Estate have rather played the wallflowers at the 80s revival party. Not that they mind overmuch, judging by the sweet-natured dreaminess of their output. RE's self-titled 2009 debut introduced the band's hazy, Byrds-derived jangle; this second effort reimagines the bucolic pastorales of the 80s indie movement, given a Fleet Foxes skill set. "Kinder Blumen" is an instrumental whose circular prettiness is anything but knock-kneed, while "Green Aisles" makes a very persuasive case for driving aimlessly around woodland.
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Kitty Empire
Kitty Empire is the Observer's pop critic. She has written for NME and occasionally crops up on Radio 4, 5Live, BBC 6Music, and has appeared on BBC2's The Culture Show and Newsnight Review. @kittyempire666
Kitty Empire
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