Andy's Aural Advent: 13th Dec. Martin Courtney - "Vestiges"

Many Moons, Martin Courtney's debut LP, was a late Autumnal treat, which - following on from the Ducktails and Alex Bleeker & the Freaks projects - added extra weight to the argument that the sum of Real Estate's parts is greater than its whole. Indeed, it's gone straight in there at No. 2 behind Ducktails' The Flower Lane in my list of most valued Real Estate properties; a crisper, fuller attempt at something more classic, with beautifully subtle orchestrations.

The lovely Big Star-via-Teenage Fanclub guitar work and trademark Courtney wistfulness ("freaks and friends that we once knew, will they smile like they used to...it's hard to know if we can rely on anything") of "Vestiges" made it an obvious single.