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A band for 15 years now, with a half-dozen records to its canny name, Real Estate knows how the press cycle inevitably goes: Someone somewhere at last had a realization about what their songs needed to say and how they should sound, so (at least according to brief biographies like this one) they finally made the best album of their career. But here’s the thing: Real Estate has been so consistently compelling for those 15 years, with their coruscant indie rock shuffles perfectly reflecting the spellbinding glow of suburban ennui, that they know when they have done it. That is, they know when they have written songs that shimmer and fetch and radiate despite or because of the gloom lurking in their grooves. It is the gift and curse of self- awareness, of sticking together since childhood.
So Real Estate, in turn, needs you to know that Daniel—their sixth full-length album, recorded in an ebullient nine-day spree in RCA Studio A, in Nashville with celebrated producer and songwriter Daniel Tashian—is quite possibly their best album. In 11 compulsively tuneful songs, they connect the uninhibited wonder of their earliest work with the earned perspective of adulthood. What more could you need from Real Estate at 15?
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Heaven Schmitt, the front person of Grumpy, keeps their friends close and their exes closer. The keyboardist and bassist are Heaven’s ex girlfriends, the drummer is their ex-husband (the guitar player and Heaven never dated but there was one night when Heaven thought they might kiss but they didn’t).
Originally based in Nashville, where Schmitt studied songwriting at Belmont University, before relocating to Chicago, Schmitt released a debut LP called Loser under the Grumpy name in 2020. Although it garnered a cult audience, Schmitt felt that due to a lack of confidence during the recording process the album never truly represented what they thought their band should be. It all fell into place when Schmitt moved to New York in 2022. On the East Coast Grumpy has transformed, leveling up adjacent to a buzzy corner of the Brooklyn scene.
The current Grumpy backing band includes Austin Arnold on drums, Lane Rodges on keys, Anya Good on bass, and Diego Clare on guitar. Being in an act with numerous exes isn’t always easy. However, Schmitt feels that it leads to an honest, nurturing dynamic. “I’m really drawn to people who — no matter what they’re going through, or what we’re going through — have a clear baseline of respect and care and love,” Schmitt says of their bandmates.