The Main Thing (Real Estate album)

The Main Thing is the fifth studio album by the American indie rock band Real Estate, released on February 28, 2020 on Domino Records. The album was produced by Kevin McMahon, who had previously worked with the band on their second album, Days (2011).

The Main Thing
Studio album by Real Estate
Released	February 28, 2020
Genre	Indie rock
Length	52:26
Label	Domino Records
Producer	Kevin McMahon
Real Estate chronology
In Mind (2017) The Main Thing (2020)
Singles from In Mind
"Paper Cup" Released: January 15, 2020 "The Main Thing" Released: February 24, 2020

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	77/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Clash	7/10[3]
DIY	[4]
Exclaim!	8/10[5]
The Line of Best Fit	7/10[6]
NME	[7]
The Observer	[8]
Paste	8/10[9]
Pitchfork	7.3/10[10]

The album's release was preceded by the singles, "Paper Cup" and "The Main Thing".

Background

Primary songwriter Martin Courtney began writing The Main Thing while touring in support of the band's previous album, In Mind, in 2017. During the process, Courtney initially had anxieties about whether Real Estate should continue: "My wife was pregnant through a lot of the process of writing this record. So, just on the level of, is this a responsible thing to do, to be a guy in an indie-rock band. I was really struggling with that, and also feeling like, the world is kind of in a bad state." Courtney's love of being a member of the band ultimately led him to continue working on new material: "Maybe it’s better to set an example to do what you love for those around you. That was something that I found kind of inspiring."[11]

As a result, the band entered the studio with a renewed sense of focus: "We knew we’d been a band for ten years, and this is our fifth record, and it kind of felt almost like do or die."[11]

Recording

To record the album, the band worked with Producer Kevin McMahon, who they had previously worked with on their second studio album, Days (2011): "We were in this old barn that was covered with old musical gear—old, broken things in states of disrepair. [...] He’s just got all kinds of stuff like that. There are wires everywhere and pictures torn out of magazines. I feel like it’s a little bit of a glimpse into Kevin. There’s a method to his madness."[12]

McMahon pushed the band to make meaningful artistic decisions in the studio: "He would come up to you and be like, 'Why are you doing that?' Whatever it was, guitar part or examining a line in the lyrics or something, and just being like, 'Is there a reason for this? I’m not making a judgment call on whether I like it or not, but as long as you’re thinking about it and you’re not just falling into old habits.'"[11]

Writing and composition

Regarding the album's themes, Martin Courtney noted, "It’s an idea of life becoming more complex as you get older."[13] Courtney was also influenced by his three children: "There’s definitely this feeling of wanting to shelter them. That heart-breaking realisation that they will have to grapple someday with the things we’re grappling with now. And also realising, I’m a grown-up now! And we have to grapple with that shit."[13]

Courtney was also influenced by the concept of memory: "Maybe we’re cutting into what’s flawed about nostalgia. You look back on your past with these rose-coloured glasses, and there’s a tendency to smooth over the deeply complex history of it."[13]

The song, "Also a But" is the band's first to be primarily written by and feature lead vocals from guitarist Julian Lynch; while "Sting" was written by keyboardist Matt Kallman. Bass guitarist Alex Bleaker praised Courtney for opening up the band's songwriting process: "I have to give props to Martin for relinquishing this feeling of, 'I wrote it though!' Those are the things that make us grow and make the music better, or at least different. Because being in band is crazy. In a way it’s like a romantic relationship. It’s complicated, and there’s tension."[13]

The band were collectively inspired by the Roxy Music album Avalon (1982) during the recording process: "The name of our album is a nod to one of the songs on that record. Just in terms of production and the sounds, with the way that album feels really open and the ambient sections between songs, we were aspiring at least in one sense to do that on this record."[12] Courtney attributes much of the album's sound and overall atmosphere to keyboardist Matt Kallman: "I think it came out in some of the choices Matt made in terms of synth sounds and stuff like that."[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Real Estate.

The Main Thing track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Friday"	4:56
2.	"Paper Cup"	4:30
3.	"Gone"	3:13
4.	"You"	3:52
5.	"November"	2:22
6.	"Falling Down"	4:31
7.	"Also a But"	5:23
8.	"The Main Thing"	2:35
9.	"Shallow Sun"	4:14
10.	"Sting"	1:50
11.	"Silent World"	4:42
12.	"Procession"	3:20
13.	"Brother"	2:55
Total length:		52:26

The Main Thing – Japanese edition (bonus track)[14]

No.	Title	Length
14.	"You" (Live in Chicago 2019)

References

1. "The Main Thing by Real Estate – Critic Reviews". Metacritic.
2. Thomas, Fred. "Real Estate – The Main Thing". AllMusic.
3. Hansen, Susan (February 27, 2020). "Real Estate – The Main Thing". Clash. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
4. Hamilton-Peach, Chris (February 27, 2020). "Album Review: Real Estate – The Main Thing". DIY. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
5. Yuyitung, Matt (February 25, 2020). "Real Estate – The Main Thing". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
6. Lilly, Evan (March 3, 2020). "Real Estate – The Main Thing". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
7. Krol, Charlotte (February 26, 2020). "Real Estate – 'The Main Thing' review: suburban rockers undergo creative blossoming (and turn a little disco!)". NME. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
8. Mongredien, Phil (March 1, 2020). "Real Estate: The Main Thing review – artfully polished tedium". The Observer. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
9. Martin, Clare (March 4, 2020). "Real Estate Are Anything But Complacent on The Main Thing". Paste. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
10. Gordon, Arielle (March 4, 2020). "Real Estate: The Main Thing Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
11. Hyden, Steven (February 27, 2020). "Real Estate's Martin Courtney Discusses Their New Album And The Struggles Of Being A Legacy Indie Band". Uproxx. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
12. Sapienza, Ethan (February 27, 2020). "Real Estate Is Listening to Weezer, Roxy Music, and (Obviously) the Boss". Interview Magazine. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
13. O'Connor, Roisin (February 27, 2020). "Real Estate: 'Our awareness of the world we're in has changed'". The Independent. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
14. "BEATINK.COM The Main Thing". Beatink.com. Retrieved January 11, 2021.