Beach House are the masters of dreamy lo-fi. Their third release, Teen Dream, effortlessly evokes a sense of nostalgia, coaxing memories of carefree teenage days spent basking under the sun’s warming rays, the ambient sound of the ocean gently lapping the shoreline. It truly is an effortless journey. A journey Beach House are willing to openly share with whomever cares to join them on the porch of their resplendent house by the sea.
The Baltimore-based duo recorded the album in a converted church, fittingly called Dreamland, in upstate New York with Chris Coady (TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Grizzly Bear). The sparse, delicate sound can perhaps be attributed to those hallowed walls.
Teen Dream seems to float effortlessly from song to song. Every sound finely sewn together, forming a unique tapestry which exquisitely represents the mixed emotions of youth. Victoria Legrand’s haunting vocals are the hallmark of the Beach House sound, however without Alex Scally’s atmospheric guitars and droning keys it wouldn’t be the same. It’s through this union that Teen Dream truly hits its mark.
‘Norway’, the first track released from the album, is a beautiful dreamy pop number which, for the uninitiated, is a perfect introduction to Beach House. Its soaring chorus manages to pull together a song which travels perfectly on the precipice of Scally’s intricate, woozy, sound-bending instruments.
Beach House have strong ties to Grizzly Bear, with Legrand providing backing vocals on the track ‘Two Weeks’. The similarities between the two bands are immediately evident.
While ‘Norway’ is an instant classic, Teen Dream is littered with highlights. Notably, ‘Walk In The Park’, ‘Silver Soul’, ‘Used to be’, ‘Zebra’ and ‘Real Love’. However, like Scally and Legrand, the sum of the parts is far greater than the individual slices. In Teen Dream, the sum of those parts is one of the albums of the year.
If xx set a benchmark last year, Teen Dream comes close in 2010.
Download
Download stand-out track ‘Norway’ here.
