Real Estate's 'Half a Human' is All Spring

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For a band that is always comfortable riding in second gear, New Jersey’s Real Estate has a knack for keeping their Sunday drives fresh.

Last year saw the release of their fifth album, The Main Thing, one of the many music victims of the pandemic’s early days. Released in February, the excellent album was never able to have the tours to support it.

A little more than a year later, Real Estate is back with Half a Human, an EP collecting new tracks as well as others that didn’t fit on the last album.

Now on their third record since giving co-founder Matt Mondinalie the boot, I can say the band is for the better. While their hazy dog days of summer sound is still the basis for the group, their eagerness to explore a jammier side is paying off more with each new release.

After opening with the short instrumental “Desire Path,” the intertwining guitars of “Half a Human” sprout to give hopes of winter’s end over its six-minute running time. The addition of Julian Lynch on lead guitar following the exit of Mondinalie immediately paid off on 2017’s In Mind. Still, his work really shines here, fitting in perfectly with singer and guitarist Martin Courtney.

On “Soon,” Courtney sings, “the clock hands stuck at noon, there’s no such thing as soon,” which both describes the band’s past in their midtempo roots but also shows they are now in no hurry to arrive anywhere with their jammier tendencies since Lynch joined.

“D+” is another outstanding track from bassist Alex Bleeker, a song also on his exceptional debut solo album released earlier this month. I’ll always take a cut from Bleeker. His track “Wonder Years” was my favorite on Days, an album full of great material.

The record’s best track is “In the Garden,” which demonstrates how the group has taken their vintage sound and updated it with crisp jamming that still always has a direction. It’s also a showcase for keyboardist Matt Kallman who joined the band in 2013, and new drummer Sammi Niss. Kallman’s gentle synth freakout pushes the band into new territory, and Niss’s parts are continually the most exciting and diverse drum work to be featured on a Real Estate record.

Half a Human breezes by so quickly that when the final track, “Ribbon,” is over, you’ll want another cocktail and hit “play” once more.

If I had a pool, these guys are who I’d want soundtracking my late-afternoons.

Half a Human is available now on Domino.

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