''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 DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

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, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

. It was released on February 14, 1995, by

Seed Records Seed Records has been the name of multiple record labels. 1970s American label Seed Records was a record label started in 1972 by Paul Clark, a musician involved in the Jesus music movement. The label ran until circa 1981, when he started ...

. Musically, the album followed the material featured on Ivy's previous release, '' Lately''; it was produced by

Kurt Ralske Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad (name), Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt (surn ...

with Ivy members

Andy Chase Andy Chase is record producer and label owner. He formed the band Ivy with Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Dominique Durand, now his wife. Chase owns Unfiltered Records and co-owned Stratosphere Sound studio with Schlesinger and James ...

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 a key songwriting contri ...

. ''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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, 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 Beautiful, an adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty, may refer to: Film and theater * ''Beautiful'' (2000 film), an American film directed by Sally Field * ''Beautiful'' (2008 film), a South Korean film directed by Juhn Jai-h ...

" 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. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' 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 (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

accompanied by

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

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

and

, with additional production by

References

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