What sets the Jersey boys in Real Estate apart from the anonymous masses of kinda disaffected, sorta heartbroken white dudes with chiming guitars and pretty voices is that these guys know how to build an actual tune. In fact, they’ve crafted two albums of immaculately rendered jangle-pop and were poised for a hat trick with the release of their third, Atlas, in March 2014. Every song is like the Platonic ideal of an indie-rock anthem: condensed, addictive nuggets of melody and atmosphere, technically adept and never over-staying their welcome. Meanwhile, Martin Courtney’s lyrics create a sort of Rorschach test for your emotions; they’re vague enough to score a breakup or acceptance into law school. Sure, it’s polite, but damned if they don’t crank out some head-noddingly, toe-tappingly catchy music. by Kyle Fleck