Beach House

You soar through a patch of fog, and emerge from the top into the orange of the early evening sunset. As the sun dips below the carpet of clouds, you dive to follow it and the others that plunge into the pillowy haze. You surface just in time to catch a flash of green as the fiery orb dives into the ocean, and the sky is splashed with hues of deep purple. When all is enveloped in stars, you land on a cliff near the sea to rest. You listen to the waves below . . .

We should be so lucky to be gifted with a second album in as many months from a band with a pristine track record, but lo and behold! Thank Your Lucky Stars is the newest full-length from Beach House, a Baltimore-based duo made up of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally. Although they employ a great deal of aspects from their refined dream pop formula, they also introduce new elements of darkness and untamed experimentalism.

The glow of the wonderful Depression Cherry is still burning bright, having been released a couple months prior to this record, but the two act as companion pieces and contrast in compelling ways. While the former basks in palatial reverb and contains pristine melodies, the entrancing songs of the latter dwell in an icy haze and show the group’s remarkable ability to create beauty with the inclusion of darker musical components.

Beach House can do no wrong, and just when it seems that there’s no plausible way they could, they somehow miraculously seem to top themselves with each subsequent release. They significantly and successfully altered their golden recipe on this outing, so we can safely assume that these two still have a multitude of fresh ideas up their sleeves. If you’re seeking hazy, enchanting dream-pop, this album is for you.

– stasi (@stasisphere)

You walk out of your front door and stand on your porch. It’s a warm, sunny day, and all of your neighbors are standing on their porches, smiling. Your eyes feel a bit dry, so you blink. Your neighbors have all vanished, and a flock of white birds is ascending into the sky. You are now alone You blink once more. You flap your wings and soar into the air to rejoin the others. The world is breathtaking from up here. You drift on the wind, and listen . . .

There’s something so admirable about a band that stick to their guns. It takes a world of patience and dedication to refine a unique musical recipe, and few things are as exhilarating as witnessing a group orbit closer and closer to that golden, sought-after formula. Depression Cherry is the newest full-length from Beach House, a duo that comes closer on this record to that individual, dreamy formula than they ever have before.

The best things about the group’s previous albums, all of which are wonderful in their own right, can also be said about this one. Victoria Legrand’s serene voice waltzes around Alex Scally’s lush guitar with sweetly euphoric melodies, and the booming drums from Bloom have been toned down to provide room for the ethereal synths to breathe. This is the ideal soundtrack to the most vivid, majestic daydream.

The moments when Legrand and Scally show a different, more transparent side of themselves are some of the most captivating; namely on “Sparks,” when the duo show what they can do when they allow the coarse beauty of dissonance to seep into their sound. On this record, these artists anchor themselves in the physical world while soaring to the most lofty heights. If you’re seeking lush dream-pop, this album is for you.

– stasi (@stasisphere)

Stasisphere

Thank Your Lucky Stars by Beach House

Depression Cherry by Beach House