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