Indie rock mainstays Real Estate today announced the details of their next album, Daniel, which will be released on February 23, 2024 by Domino Recording Co. The sixth full-length from New Jersey natives Martin Courtney (vocals, guitar), Alex Bleeker (bass, vocals), Matt Kallman (keyboards), Julian Lynch (guitar) andSammi Niss (drums), Daniel sports 11 new songs recorded with GRAMMY-winning producer Daniel Tashian (Kacey Musgraves) during an ebullient nine-day spree at RCA Studio A in Nashville.
First single “Water Underground” is out now, in tandem with a music video inspired by the beloved 1990s Nickelodeon sitcom The Adventures of Pete & Pete. The clip was directed by Edmond Hawkins and stars fellow New Jersey native and Pete & Pete star Danny Tamberelli, who also appears in it along with former castmateMichael C. Maronna. The video, which was filmed in suburban New Jersey, was conceptualized and produced by Tamberelli and Maronna, with creators Chris Viscardi and Will McRobb.
“This song is about writing songs,” stated frontman and lyricist Martin Courtney. “I think ‘Water Underground’ is like the unconscious, the mysterious part of your brain where creativity comes from. The constant flow of music in the back of your head. You get an idea while driving or walking the dog or something and you want to hold on to it.”
“New Jersey roots are hard to break,” says Tamberelli, who was approached about collaborating by Real Estate’s Pete & Pete-loving members. “Julian, Alex and Martin all grew up one town away from me and were actually friends with the younger siblings of my friends from Ridgewood. They told me they even saw me perform at the local bandshell with some of those older siblings while I was in high school. The video brings it full circle and adding my dear old friends from the show into the fold really tied it all together.”
Real Estate has also announced an extensive 2024 North American tour, beginning March in Vancouver and running until May 26 in Atlanta. Artist presale tickets will be available Nov. 29, with local pre-sales set for Nov. 30 and general public on-sales starting Dec. 1. Get tickets HERE.
The songs on Daniel are effortless but artful. They shimmer and radiate without hesitation or second guesses, and they connect the uninhibited wonder of Real Estate’s earliest work with the earned perspective of adulthood. Daniel is available to pre-order on Mart edition baby blue vinyl with a 24×36” double-sided poster, indie edition silver vinyl, LP, CD and digitally. Dom Mart | Digital.
In Nashville, Real Estate shared a rental, cutting up in close quarters after the imposition of separation of these last few years. Several days into recording, they were discussing album titles when someone suggested “Daniel,” simply because it seemed like a good idea to bestow a human name upon a record. Was it for Daniel Tashian? Maybe. Was it the sign of a band that has now been around long enough to take its music seriously without taking itself or its perception too seriously? Absolutely.
