Brooklyn-via-New Jersey indie rock band Real Estate is ready to move on from the departure of founding member and guitarist Matt Mondanile, who intends to devote all his energies on his side project, Ducktails. With New Jersey guitarist Julian Lynch replacing Mondanile, the quintet have been recording Real Estate's fourth album, In Mind (2017), and released the music video for their first single, "Darling".
As Pitchfork's Larry Fitzmaurice observed, Real Estate's ouevre is distinct for their pleasant, summery suburban ambience and their capacity to evoke emotional complexities from this mellow sonic template: "what's elevated the band's work thus far beyond mere ambience, then, is its ability to use an unpretentious sound to casually stir memories and emotions [...] Real Estate write the type of warm, yearning tunes that soundtrack the small complications that dot young people's lives while reminding older listeners of when they were still gaining a sense of large-scale perspective".
Minimalist, soothing and evocative, "Darling" continues this aesthetic with some jangle pop influences in their composition of bright guitars and moody synth cords (alongside neighing from a random horse in the music video). Vocalist and guitarist Martin Courtney gently coos about everyday suburban observations, which are juxtaposed against an honest inner desire:
'The black and yellow finchesThat nest in our new fernsWere chained upon our front porchWait for the warm sun to returnImpatiently, as I wait for youImpatiently, as I wait for youThe night surrenders swiftlyThe moon retreats from sightThe darkness that surrounds meThe sun cuts like a knife to shineImpatientlyImpatientlyThe birds singingThe sun risingImpatientlyAs I wait for youFor you, for you, for you'
Lyrics: Genius
