Real Estate share existential new track, ‘Haunted World’
With the bitterly cold weather and minimal sunlight, congratulations are in order for anyone who’s managing to still listen to darker music. In the winter months, most are trying to find the audio equivalent of a hug. In comes Real Estate, the indie mainstays that broke into the scene in the 2010s and never left. On ‘Haunted World’, they wrap that nostalgia up in a cosy package.
“This haunted world is killing me,” the band sings in perhaps the most polite way possible. Despite the title and the song content, the track couldn’t be sweeter. It delivers on that desire for cosiness as an utterly and totally inoffensive, easy-listening track. Made up mostly of acoustic guitar with some gently added extras to the chorus, it’s a simple tune, and what’s wrong with that?
The band themselves describe the track by saying it “sounds like a ’90s sitcom theme to us,” adding, “Network execs – this song is available and we are ready and willing to sell to the highest bidder.”
The description is perfect; it’s easy to imagine smiling Hollywood faces and kooky typefaces floating across the screen as it rolls on. Encapsulating the kind of catchiness that good theme songs have, it’s not cheesy, but it’s not exactly edgy. You’d sing along as it played at the start and maybe seek it out for a listen from time to time.
‘Haunted World’ isn’t bad, but it feels like a strange choice of single. Their previous release, ‘Water Underground’ offered more from the usually much more layered and busy band. In comparison, ‘Haunted World’ feels less effective, moving in the same sonic world but with less punch.
Sadly, neither can hold a candle to older tracks like ‘Darling’ or ‘It’s Real’. As the band prepares to release their sixth album, hopefully, the full tracklist will offer more variety and some bigger moments to rival those older hits.
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