SiteOfSound

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. I get it, The Strokes’ “Is This It” album is one of, if not, the greatest indie albums of all time. In this modern era of “single track” downloads and “hit singles,” number 1’s and 2’s on the itunes most downloaded seems to be the mecca of the “made it’s” in the music industry. Very seldom do entire albums come along and hit you with same caliber that a great song does. Nowadays it’s doleful to think that an “album” is a lost art, but those are the snack facts on facts on facts. When bands do master the art of making the all inclusive, never-dull, full length LP that brings listeners to a state euphoria and mystifying, hair raising, salivating, masturbatingly exuberating bliss, tastefully tainted with perfection and imperfection so much so that it’s sublime fulcrum is that to a 16th century, patriarchal love child thriving in the evangelical, “do it yourself,” expansion era, with a solid, affluent foundation mongreled with a Jacksonian knack to pursue wealth, prosperity and happiness, the end result can be compared to an album such as “Is This It.”

. Released in the summer of 2001, it’s been more than 10 years, and this album still holds the perfect recipe on “how to make a perfect rock album.” There is no doubt that artists have since put out work with similar stylistic and harmonious aesthetics that do hold their own in the music world, but “Is This It” from a sound standpoint, recording standpoint, instrumental standpoint, lyrical standpoint, band image standpoint, bashed the fucking nail on the head six times over. While artists persevere for their own sounds in their respected genres and forms of “modus operendi” there is always a uniform understanding that they must pay homage to the fellows that shaped the independent music scene. I’m sure bands after establishing themselves must have thought, “Well, at this point the only thing left to do is pay tribute to The Strokes” and what better way to do that than to cover there beloved album, “Is This It.” Stereogum.com organized for bands to come to together and collaboratively cover the entire album. Bands like Peter, Bjorn & John, The Morning Benders and Heems but one band seemed to really incorporate their specific style while synthesizing the unmatched, uncanny sound of The Strokes, Real Estate.

. Real Estate, the chill-wave trio from Ridgewood, NJ in my opinion truly stole the show. I could imagine that it would be very hard to take such a masterpiece of a song such as “Barley Legal” and have the balls to do anything to it, but in decadent fashion they pulled it off. The first noticeable difference is the tempo, being Real Estate they are not known for staying ahead in the tune, instead they make their living sitting back,slow-riding reverb until the tide turns low. Who would ever think a sound about heartbeating regret and fast paced, unwanted nostalgia could be slowed to a degree of chill-wave, tone-heavy vibes? Oh right, fucking Real Estate knew that! In an interview for Stereogum.com, bassist, Alex Bleeker revealed that his love for the band, specifically his idol worship for Strokes guitarist, Albert Hammond Jr., prompted him to go out and make his first guitar buy, a white Fender Strat with a lightning bolt strap. Why would Real Estate ever shy away from an opportunity to directly please their child-hood rock gods? The wouldn’t, because their fucking Real Estate! In my opinion, their cover of “Is This It” certainly holds itself to a higher standard than the rest of the tracks on the tribute album. I don’t suggest the entire album because while “Is this It” speaks for it’s self, the cover album is still a cover, and not all bands, let alone anyone can reproduce music gold. In saying so, Real Estate came pretty fucking close, take a listen, take a download, take a fucking break out of your day, love JF.

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Click below to download this sexy song:

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Real Estate-Barely Legal