Matthew Mondanile is the lead man for the band Real Estate, and solo man on the project Ducktails. Matthew Mondanile pretty much rocks. There seems to be quite a backstory for the guy too, which I’m trying to sweep together piece by piece as well. But it’s easy to find out how great his music is. Check out a clip of an interview he did for Viceland:

It’s a basic tip, but it sounds like a good one.
Yeah. So at New World Hot Dog we’d listen to music and drink beer. Before I was introduced to Pacific City I was pretty bummed and didn’t know how to focus my jams. I was scatter-brained – I traveled to different places while I was in Pacific City, like Finland, Spain, Granada and just chilled with my friend Brittany. Granada’s one of the most beautiful places…

Hold on – what island did you say Pacific City was on?
I’m not really sure. It’s somewhere between New Jersey and Asia.

Does it exist in the physical world?
For some people, yes. But not for others.

So there is Real Estate, a four person band New Jersey. And apparently the band spend a great amount of time on the Jersey shore growing up, many of their track titles and themes for the lyrics seem to be derived from the mist and crashes of the busy shore. You can hear it in the first few seconds of “Pool Swimmers,” there is this misty and fuzzy sound lingering above all that is going on. The slow moving guitar, not on in “Pool Swimmers” but in other tracks as well, creates a very comfortable atmosphere for the listener. Their snares have a spooky feeling to them as well, reminding me of a one Ancient Crux I featured on here a while back. The watered-down and distant vocals feel right at home, nestled down below all of the interweaving of the music. If Brooklyn and the Caribbean had a kid, he’d make music like this. 

Real Estate – “Beach Comber”

And then there is Ducktails. The much more adventurous and experimental outlet for Mondanile. I guess I’ll stick with my hypothetical children theme and say that Ducktails is like the bastard child of Panda Bear and Air France. For growing up in New Jersey this guy sure does have a grasp on the sunny beach theme. “Beach Point Pleasant” is a looping masterpiece, with a sample starting things off and continuing throughout the entire piece. The track seems to exemplify what Ducktails is all about, stringy guitar and peaceful mellotrons, little to no vocalization, and presto: it’s 1968 and you’re sitting the beach with a young Brian Wilson. 

Ducktails – “Beach Point Pleasant” 

I feel terribly naive talking about this man’s music, for it seems as though there is a lot more to take on than what I have for the past few days. But I love what he does, and I want you to love it as well. So obviously I would highly encourage giving either of the two acts a spin, especially this time of the year Ducktails can at least make you feel like it isn’t still below freezing outside, ha. (I’ve been running a cabin fever theme on here for years it feels like). Most of all though, support what you like, buy a record, buy one Ducktails tapes even. It’s bands like this that make me keep a great perspective on music and its influence on me. It can make me smile and weep with the same loop, hanging on the twang of every string. Cliched? fuck it. I love music.