New Estate - Out Of The Ground (Album)
They rock a bit. They pop a bit more. They occasionally play with cartoon keyboard sounds. New Estate’s album Out Of The Ground has a slight schizophrenic touch to it sonically, slipping and sliding between cute chic, lazy cool and sporadic chin out I-dare-you-to-hit-me moments of rock, and there sounds like there’s the odd cynic lurking about the band’s corridors.
The main vocals are just a touch out of tune, untrained, and full of spite, giving them an excellent, more honest and unpretentious feel, with female oohs and aahs bringing things back to a “Come on kids, let’s hum along” state of mind. Guitars swap between fuzz, feedback, fazing and unadorned hooks, and along with the bass, sound at times akin to that of Joy Division’s Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook. The drums sit in the back row of the classroom a bit but still manage to throw the odd spitball to the front in order to maintain contact with the rest of things. The mix and vibe issued by New estate here kind of feels like you’re listening to your big brother’s band through a few fiberglass enforced bedroom walls, and reminds me of a Television record, unafraid of being unfurnished.
The stretch of tunes here are quite varied in vibe and a little so in style, but manage somehow to fuse in what can only be defined as the New Estate sound. If they indeed were to be likened to anyone, I would say they share the same shower as Dinosaur Jr., just a little less willing to use the soap.
New Estate is like when middleclass upbringing goes wrong and evicts something original and catchy. Slightly pissed off is a great state of mind.
