''Realistic'' is the debut album by American

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

band

Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern ...

. It was released on February 14, 1995, by Seed Records. Musically, the album followed the material featured on Ivy's previous release, '' Lately''; it was produced by Kurt Ralske with Ivy members Andy Chase and

Adam Schlesinger Adam Lyons Schlesinger (October 31, 1967 – April 1, 2020) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He was a founding member of the bands Fountains of Wayne, Ivy, and Tinted Windows, and was also a member of the ban ...

. ''Realistic'' received positive reviews from critics upon release, but was commercially unsuccessful; the album did not peak on any record chart, nor did the singles released from the album. Three singles were released from the album. " Get Enough," the album's lead single, was released in 1994 to general acclaim from critics, especially in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where it was promoted heavily. Single "Don't Believe a Word" was released in 1995 to highly positive reviews, but was less successful than "Get Enough." Promotional single " Beautiful" was also released in 1995.

Critical reception

''Realistic'' received mixed to favorable reviews from critics upon release. '' MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide'' called the album "candy-coated by Chase's chiming guitars and awash in Durand's lovelorn daydreams."

Singles

" Get Enough" was released as the album's lead single in 1994, followed by the release of Ivy's first extended play, '' Lately''. The single received moderate success in the UK, where ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' named the track "Single of the Week" shortly after its release. "Don't Believe a Word" was the second single released from the album in 1995. The single was released in several formats, including as a

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

accompanied by

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

s "By Myself" and "An Ordinary." "Beautiful" was the third and final single from ''Realistic'', released in 1995 as a promotional single.

Track listing

All songs written by Ivy and produced by Andy Chase and

, with additional production by Kurt Ralske.

References

1995 albums Ivy (band) albums Seed Records albums Albums produced by Adam Schlesinger {{1990s-alt-rock-album-stub