Beach House - Bloom

Following the success of Teen Dream in 2010, Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand are back with their fourth full-length album. Bloom was born on the road in stolen moments between soundchecks and shows, and takes influence from the experiences during two years on tour. The duo then wove together the resulting melodies, chords, rhythms, words and textures in Baltimore, before recording them over a period of seven weeks at Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, Texas.

Despite being created over a period of time and in different locations, the most arresting thing about Bloom is that it sounds like a coherent body of work that needs to be consumed as a whole rather than in chunks, as is the norm in this era of diminished attention. It is also well-monikered in that feels like a natural development from Teen Dream. All of the elements which made that album great are here, yet are further developed. Ambitious opener Myth sweeps and soars even higher than 10 Mile Stereo and is a fine example of how, while the trademark distance and isolation are still evident, this time a greater sense of warmth and optimism thaws Beach House's iciness. Legrand's androgynous melodies are prettier than ever too. While often characteristically pared back, at times they rise beautifully. New Year for instance, is as joyous as it is dreamy.

While there is no wheel-reinvention here, Bloom works perfectly as a follow-up to their last outing. It is an album that actually sounds like... well... an album and is certainly one of the finest releases so far this year.

Review by Bobby Townsend

Beach House - Teen Dream

The third album from Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand arrives on the back of some massively gushing reviews from the US and UK, perhaps because the band has slightly altered its sound from the sparseness of its first two offerings and moved further towards the kind of epic American psych pop that is so widely favoured at the moment. Opener Zebra sets the tone for the rest of the record, as keys and guitar create a haunting soundscape to compliment Legrand’s ethereal ‘ahhing’.

While notably poppier than we’ve heard from Beach House before, amongst the themes of lost love, sadness and nostalgia there is still a pleasing iciness and otherworldliness here, while Legrand’s vocal - which was recently utilised by Grizzly Bear - is intriguing in its huskiness and androgyny.

However, the sticking point with Teen Dream is that, between the swirling melodies and the stirring synths, the foundation-laying reverb-filled instrumentation is a little low on tempo and variety. There are truly stunning moments, like the glorious 10 Mile Stereo, with its pulsing beat building towards rousing, sparkling shoegazey pop and ending with a crescendo that explodes like fireworks. However, such awesome dynamism is rare on this intricate, impressive yet consistently slow-paced record.

So, it isn’t the quite the damn near perfect album that some would suggest it to be, but Teen Dream is certainly an evolvement of Beach House’s sound. It shows a desire to create intelligent, atmospheric music and boasts a few moments of magic. It’s just a shame it’s not always as engaging as its standout moments suggest it should be.