Ivy
Realistic
Bar/None
Released 10/13/23
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Just six months ago, Ivy and Bar/None Records generously reissued the band’s second studio album Apartment Life (1997) and now comes the exciting news that their debut album Realistic (1995) has resurfaced in vinyl form as well. The recently released vinyl edition promises to rekindle the group’s early songs among its loyal legion of fans while introducing a new cohort of listeners to their sterling songcraft.
By the band’s own admission, the studio albums that followed Realistic were noticeably more polished. Nevertheless, their debut LP is an excellent album that contains the foundational musical elements, absorbing melodies, seamless tempo shifts and lush vocals that have defined their entire recorded repertoire.
“With Realistic, we were very, at that point, not professional at all,” Dominique Durand admitted in our interview with her and Andy Chase in October of last year. “I mean, even though Andy and Adam (Schlesinger) were great musicians, it was really the first time that they ever made a record. And so, we really didn't know what we were doing. But after Realistic was released, we went on tour, and I became a better singer with more confidence. And then, of course, Andy and Adam were spending a lot of time in the studio and becoming real producers and recording engineers, and they were both very interested in that process of production and recording.”
Rarely has “not knowing what you’re doing” sounded as wonderful as it does on Realistic and we didn’t hesitate to add this gem of an album to our vinyl collection.
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