Beach House

That first record came close to creating a new mini-genre. I love the sound of it so much, it took me a long time to let go of it and embrace the new album.

i like Devotion a lot.

'Master of None' off their debut is one of my fave songs of the past few years.

"Master of None" is pretty amazing on its own. But Devotion is a lot stronger from start to finish. Agree with John though, i get the sense when listening to them that they can take a huge step forward. Still, for their second album the progression is a good one.

Really fun to watch her sing live too.

Yes. Amazing live. When I saw them in Toronto, she reminded me sometimes of Judee Sill. I told her so, and she said, "Who's she?" at the same time her bandmate said, "Oh no!"

That's good to hear, that they're good live. Maybe one of my two problems with them (the other is that their rhythms/chord progressions get repetitive, and I'm kind of in a glass house on that front) is that I don't always get a sense of involvement - it was more the case on the first record though. Her growth as a singer between the two seems pretty pronounced to me.

Good to see you Owen!

Yeah, you really understand just how good of a singer she is when you see them live. Not to overrate their live show, though - it's still just two people hangin' out on stage. The white outfits are nice, but it's not like there are any pyrotechnics.

Anyway - J0hn is completely on the mark. This band is capable of genius if they possess the ambition to reach for it.

such a great album, it's in my top five for 2008 at the moment.

Right, there's nothing amazing about their live show. They both sat most of the time when I saw them. But her voice is something to behold in a live venue & watching her facial contortions is a pleasure unto itself.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2578/4093209793_8925884428.jpg

Recorded in upstate New York, in a converted church called Dreamland with producer/engineer Chris Coady (who has worked with TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blonde Redhead, and a bunch of others) Teen Dream is the third album from the Baltimore-based duo Beach House, and their Sub Pop debut. The new album gives voice to a full universe of unbridled imagination, and the manifestation of Teen Dream has been a welcomed and all-consuming obsession for Beach House the past 9-12 months. Teen Dream will arrive packaged with a companion DVD featuring a video for each song on the album, each by a different director.

Track listing

1. Zebra
2. Silver Soul
3. Norway
4. Walk In The Park
5. Used To Be
6. Lover Of Mine
7. Better Times
8. 10 Mile Stereo
9. Real Love
10. Take Care

will be released on January 6, 2010.

also has just leaked, looking forward to this record.

i like that cover.

i'm sure i went looking for this thread when i first heard these guys but couldn't find it..

i like devotion a lot, though have not yet heard the self titled. surprised as to how popular they seem to be. can't argue with any of the comments about the kendra-isms. they're not terribly ethereal though despite the liberal use of reverb

love this band, sooooooo listenable and dreamy. Stoked for new songs, because I get "You Came To Me" stuck in my head a lot.

new track Norway on their myspace sounds great, really looking forward to this now

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DUDE

thank u blog view

fans of this might also dig speck mountain, both of whose albums i think are fantastic

Yes, Norway sounds great, and unexpectedly 'full' though the drum machine is still there

this is amazingly good, they have branched out a bit and it has done them wonders.

welcome to Sub Pop, Beach House.

i'm looking forward to this album a lot, probably won't be picking up that leak any time soon since i've got so much other crap to listen to, but it'll be mighty handy come winter. beach house is a member of the group of bands inside my heart that includes the smiths, leonard cohen and destroyer and all those other charming warm crooners. i like how beach house don't want to amaze you with their melodies, but just lull me down and slowly seduce you, like drinking wine on a hot day.

I was really taken with the Speck Mountain album last year sometime but I fear it might be adrift in a sea of promos now - would listen to anything new by them though.

Beach House are one of the best indieish things I've seen this year fwiw - nothing in that blurb Bee OK posted would make me check for it in itself but I'm sympathetic to them cos of seeing them live

wow first song is pretty. thise guys rule

hmm actually more cute than pretty

yea i love this band

haha whoa i couldn't even tell that the cover art appeared in this thread revive

I really like "Silver Soul". I always thought that she was a good singer, but this takes it up a notch. Her melodic instinct (the beautiful little uptick when she sings "act a fool" near the beginning), just the quality of her voice (especially the "it's happening again" refrain), and her technical ability (she sounds kickass no matter which octave she's singing in) are all really standing out for me on Teen Dream.

this track sounds great--working with an outside producer should be awesome for them.

Somehow this song is just...weak. It's got a really unfinished, tossed off feel to my ears.

really digging this album!!!!

all the press i've read about them says that the lead singer has classical training. is this true? (it's a canard of music journalism and often it turns out to only be half-true.)

if it is true, it's quite amazing that she sings the way she does, with that deliberately low-affect voice, staying comfortably in a mid-range. she never betrays any "singerly" mannerisms at all.

so what directors contributed to the DVD?

The new albums is v.v pretty btw.

The constant sense of stretching and rising in 'Zebra' is incredible.

zebra is the highlight for me

reminds me a lot of fleet foxes?? i dont know this kind of music very well but i get a kind of "shoegaze fleet foxes" vibe

yeah that's EXACTLY the vibe i got, which sort of bugged me but i find this a lot more tolerable than FF

It's not really very Fleet Foxes, although it reminded me of the Radio Dept a lot.

so... youre saying kevin and i are wrong?

i'm hoping you're wrong, because i like beach house and can't stand fleet foxes ;_;

its less the music than the soft production & the vocals

I've only heard a couple songs but I definitely got a Fleetwood Mac vibe on one of them. Don't think it's Fleet Foxy at all, but there is a 70s thing happening.

what max said

so so pretty and deliberate, really dig the pacing of the album. otm 'bout the 70s thing, with the organ etc.

but it doesn't sound old

fuck this is beautiful

The vocals don't sound anything like Fleet Foxes! There are hardly any harmonies for one, and the singer is, like, female.

yeah i fair dislike fleet foxes but this is hella good. don't really think it should be made as a point of comparison

I don't think "comparison" is the word. They're doing different things...the vocal timbre is just similar is all

I got sad when a stream of 'used to be' disappeared from the internet. Will grab this when I get home.

the singer is female but she sounds like a dude

Yeah I kind of miss the electricity of ‘7’ and its tour. I saw Beach House recently and the energy just wasn’t the same. The gig I saw in 2017 was eardrum shatteringly wild.

one of my favorite in music, all-time, is the instrumental passage near the end of the end of "Myth", where it adds in the synth-strings for the first time, and somehow the thudding toms which have been present the entire song seem even more pounding. i don't listen to beach house for the lyrics -- i would be hard pressed to name more than a few snippets. but the name of the song, "Myth", alone is perfect for the feeling when those strings come in

Was first dance at our wedding.

<3

I know

silent thinking "damn, what a great choice" several times over.

I've always loved Beach House, they are one of my favorite bands. I've recently come around to fully accept their programmed drum sound.

Myth is such a great song, very swoon-worthy and perfect as a first dance song. It makes me wish I had gone to your wedding, Alba, even though I hate weddings

For me they’re like a continuation of Cocteau Twins’ HOLV period but stripped back to the emotional core, i.e. more or less perfect

(another band to whom programmed drums are essential)

good lord there is so much emotion in 'depression cherry', i'm eight years too late but i cannot get it off the stereo. recommendations of where to go next, either within their catalogue or something of this ilk?

I think if you scroll back in this thread you’ll see some rankings of favorites but generally I’d say you’re safe with everything from Teen Dream to 7. The albums before TD are a little rawer, and the newest double album is too much of the same all at once.

I think Once twice Melody is excellent, maybe two or three cuts are merely okay & too lachrymose, the majority is poignant and manna for people like me who are way into analog synth… and furthermore, last year, after 20 years in which pop, r&b and hip-hop artists were my favorites in contemporary music, Beach House, nominally an indie rock act, were my favorites…