Portland – The first time I saw Real Estate was in 2010.  The group was opening for Deerhunter in Portland, touring in support of their first major effort, Real Estate, out a year earlier on Woodsist. Although the album was released to substantial critical acclaim, it had completely missed the mark with me. At the time, it seemed like moderately charming background noise, too innocuous to be important or weighty. Even after seeing Real Estate open for Deerhunter, my opinion didn’t change much. The music remained only aimless waves of monochromatic alt/surf-colored rock.

So why, after all of this, would I return to the Wonder Ballroom to see the quintet from Ridgewood, New Jersey headline four years later? Days. Released in 2011, Days would be one of those albums that I listened to endlessly. Everything seemed to make sense on that record. Ideas seemed to play out in perfect precision, with an emotion and depth that I was unable to find on their earlier releases. Months, seasons, and years past, and it would always find itself back on my turntable.

Still, while I walked up the stairs to the Wonder’s main floor, I was hesitant to think this live show would translate directly into the experience I had with one of my favorite records of the past few years. Plus, up until then, Real Estate’s newest release on Domino, Atlas, was un-vetted territory.

After taking the stage and opening their set with Days track “Easy,” the crowd responded immediately, cheering and falling into a mass of softly swaying bodies alongside the dreamy tune.  “Horizon” came next, an up-tempo track that made a smooth transition into “Crime,” a standout on Atlas. Seeing Real Estate live underlined one of most impressive things about the group: their ability at hiding unexpected gems of suffering in their beautifully, airy music (and making it believable). Like much of the band’s tunes, “Crime” drew together Matt Mondanile and Martin Courtney’s elegant, ethereal guitar lines while carrying the song’s sadness organically: “Toss and turn all night/Don’t know how to make it right/Crippling anxiety,” sang Courtney.

That being said, Real Estate’s music wasn’t exactly for dancing Monday night, but more fit for a stoned, contented sway. This was most apparent during the group’s biggest hit to date, “It’s Real.” The track though relatively quick-paced and garnering big applause from the crowd, didn’t move too many bodies from their initial slow bobbing. But honestly, it’s the perfect accompaniment to the music, a sound that combines 90s indie guitar with the sensibilities of psyche and jam bands of the 70s.

After cruising through “Out of Tune”, possibly (if not definitely, now having experienced it live) the most accomplished of the group’s canon, and a few other select tracks off of Days, the band cut into “Talking Backwards,” the first single off of Atlas. Real Estate may have not taken any crazy twists and turns with their sound or songwriting over their career, but it only means the music they are making just becomes more honed and potent. And “Talking Backwards” is proof of that. With the group’s hovering guitar grooves and minimal but unwavering rhythm section, “Talking Backwards” assured me by the end of the night that, though Atlas may not be Days, it has the potential to be even better.