Biography

Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Martin Courtney is recognized for the laid-back, melodically sweet, psychedelia-influenced indie rock he has created on his own and as leader of the band Real Estate. Following the release of his band's third album, the Top 40-charting Atlas, Courtney made his solo debut with Many Moons in 2015. After two more long-players with Real Estate, his second solo release, 2022's Magic Sign, remained dedicated to his signature lush, mellow jangle while reflecting on life at the cusp of adulthood. Raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey by parents who were both real estate agents, Courtney enjoyed a short stint as keyboardist for indie punk rock group Titus Andronicus in 2006, then got his real estate license after finishing college (the Evergreen State College, class of 2008). Around that time, he was putting together a band with former high-school bandmates Alex Bleeker, Etienne Duguay, and Matthew Mondanile. In the fall of 2008, with Courtney on lead vocals and guitar, Real Estate began playing live, and early in 2009 they released the Suburban Beverage 7", which introduced the group's brand of surfy, lo-fi pop. Their self-titled debut album followed in November on the Woodsist label. The quartet joined the Domino Records roster in 2011 for their sophomore album, Days. It landed on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 52. After touring and a couple of lineup changes, Courtney, Bleeker, Mondanile, keyboardist Matt Kallman, and drummer Jackson Pollis released 2014's Atlas, which went to number 34 in the U.S. In October 2015, with collaborators including Kallman, bassist Jarvis Taveniere of Woods, and the multifaceted Julian Lynch, Courtney released his solo debut, Many Moons, on Domino. A year later, Lynch replaced Mondanile in Real Estate, and the quintet of Courtney, Bleeker, Pollis, Kallman, and Lynch released In Mind in March 2017. Three years later they returned with their fifth studio album The Main Thing, which explored themes of growing up mixed with a healthy fear of an oncoming apocalypse. In 2021, Real Estate released new material in the form of the Half a Human EP. Revisiting themes of youth and young adulthood, Courtney offered up his second solo album, Magic Sign, in June 2022. Co-produced by Courtney and Rob Schnapf, it included contributions from drummer Matt Barrick (Matt Berninger, the Hold Steady), singer Kacey Johansing, and Oliver Hill (Pavo Pavo, Coco), among others. ~ Marcy Donelson & Heather Phares, Rovi