Beach House - "7"

Beach House is the long-running Dream Pop duo of Victoria LeGrand and Alex Scally, and for years they've enchanted listeners with haunting atmospheres and breezy melodies.  And for the most part, their back-catalog is incredible. Now, obviously, I know that a lot of bands these days need to take a little time really creating their sound, which they did on their 2006 debut.  This album was decent and all.  But this album really lacks the thick atmospheres and sheer beauty of their later work.  However, there still are some seriously incredible tracks here, like "Master of None" and "Lovelier Girl".  However, Beach Slang quickly got their act together with their follow-up album "Devotion".  This album took the smooth atmospheres and delicate songwriting and really began to craft something incredible. The sons were ethereal, haunting, and dreamy.  But at the center of all of this intrigue and haziness, Beach House was writing incredible Pop songs, and that's what made them special.  But Beach House seemingly weren't done, not even close.  In 2010 they released "Teen Dream", one of the most beloved and charming Indie Pop and Dream Pop albums of this generation.  Tracks like "Walk In The Park" and "Norway were chillingly beautiful ballads.  But there was such a timeless feel to all of this.  These were love songs and ballads so endearing, with so much mystique underneath that they sound like they haven't aged a bit.  The songwriting was better, the melodies were more addictive, this album was incredible.  But Beach House wasn't done, as up next they released the critically and fan-adored "Bloom" in 2012.  I feel like this album was everywhere the year it came out, appearing on countless year-end lists.  But all the accolades this album received were well earned.  This album is absolutely gorgeous, with some of the band's catchiest and most inviting songs yet like "Lazuli" and my personal favorite "New Year".  It was warm, mysterious, well written, and much more.  Once again, I had absolutely nothing bad to say about Beach House.  But with 2015's "Depression Cherry", I started to find some issues.  There were charming tunes here like the meditative "Sparks" and the absolutely stunning "Beyond Love".  But this album didn't give me that same incredible feeling that the last few Beach House projects gave me.  Not to mention, some of the later tunes on here just seemed so underwritten. And I know I'm gonna upset some people here, but 2015's second Beach House outing "Thank Your Lucky Stars", maybe their worst.  Sure, tracks like "One Thing" and "All Your Yeahs" are tremendous.  But the rest of this album seemed shallow and just seriously bland.  Now personally, I've been dying for Beach House to switch it up a bit.  And from the sound of these opening singles, that's what they're doing, by doubling down on the mystique of their early work and bringing in more instrumentals.  Hell yes, I'm excited to chat about this.

( A personal favorite of mine!)

This album starts off with “Dark Spring”.  Literally, we’re seconds into this album and this is easily the boldest and most determined sound Beach House have worked with in years.  They’ve always been breezy, sweet and mysterious.  But this my friends is all of that and more.  That one lone drum machine is gone, and in its place is live drums for the ages.  Overall there are tons of more live instrumentals, all of them being truly welcome.  I always feared for the day that Beach House would add more instrumentals.  But this is one of the boldest, yet beautiful tracks Beach House has touched since “Bloom”.  Victoria still sounds just as angelic, and Alex’s longing guitars still have so much emotion.  All of this, alongside this sweeping atmosphere, is incredible.  Then we have “Pay No Mind”, which on the other hand sounds like it could have been a home run on one of the last few Beach House albums.  It’s much slower and is dominated by twinkling guitars and some very woozy synths.  But this one is the Victoria LeGrand show completely, and that’s not a bad thing at all.  This is just such an incredibly tender tale of late night love between two people who truly care about one another.  It’s surreal at times, and the very sluggish pace actually has me on the edge of my seat.  One thing I do have to say though is that I can’t remember the last time a Beach House album was this exciting.  With all of these new instrumentals, I never know what I’m going to hear and when I’m going to hear it.  The tracks on this album all seem so inhuman in a weird way.  It’s absolutely some of the most alien-sounding tracks that Beach House have ever come out with.  This one is right back to sound tender and sweet.  But the lyrics here give this even more of a surreal feel than it already had.  As far as an old-school Beach House sounding tune goes, you don’t get much more straightforward than this.  It’s also one of the more simple tunes here, even though the band is pushing out some of their most Psychedelic lyrics yet, which I can really get into.  Plus, I find that one lone synth line to be so hypnotic.  On the other hand, “L’Inconnue” may be the dreamiest tune here.  With layers and layers of vocal sound effects, this sounds right out of the world of David Lynch.  That, alongside of the dreary guitars floating through the back, make for a pretty wile atmosphere.  Now, I’ll be honest, if I had to toss one track here it would be this one.  I do think Victoria’s singing in French is beautiful and makes this album even more mysterious.  But this album so far has been all about moving forward for Beach House.  “L’Inconnue” on the other hand, sounds like it could have been recorded 7 years ago.  It’s pleasant, but it doesn’t affect me at all, just like their entire last album.  There are some cool synths though, and those drums fills as simple as they are, add a LOT.

On the other hand, “Drunk in LA” brings us right back to the beautiful Dream Pop that Beach House got famous with.  But this one is so much more busy than the last track.  Those synths are just so cutting and demand attention.  Then we have Victoria’s performance, and I swear I haven’t heard her this passionate since the days of “Teen Dream’.  It’s beautiful, but it’s just as emotional and gigantic.  The last few years, I couldn’t help but feel like Beach House were phoning it in a little.  But with this album, they’re taking the classic, impenetrable atmosphere of Beach House and making it even more intoxicating.  It’s mysterious, has tons of emotional performances, and it’s absolutely genius.  “Dive” is up next, and I have to say, the anticipation on some of these tracks is seriously incredible.  Between those slow paced drums and eye-widening synths, I’m shocked with how exciting this one comes off.  Victoria’s very steamy, pure vocals steal the show as always.  But this one, like I said, is all about anticipation.  It’s a slow burner, which isn’t too shocking to hear from Beach House on any day.  But “Dive” feels like it could explode at any minute.  And in a very Beach House way, it does just that, with lavish guitars and pounding drums.  It’s not the most gigantic explosion you’ll hear all year, but man is it satisfying.  On the other hand, “Black Car” is the epitome of this album’s mystery.  The synths don’t sound anything like any of the others touched by Beach House, they sound so alien.  Everything about this track is much harder to place, and I love that.  Victoria’s vocals here are just as beautiful, but I feel like they creep along in an almost sinister way that gives me the chills.  To be honest, a lot of this track gives me the chills.  From the instrumentals that creep in one by one to Victoria’s performance which seems at the center of it all.  Now, we may be 8 tracks into this album.  But it’s still truly shocking to me to hear so much guitar as we do on “Lose Your Smile”.  I mean that in the best way though, it makes me feel like I’m rediscovering this album with each track.  This track may just be the most innocent of the bunch, but it’s also the most surreal.  And not for nothing, this may be my favorite track here.  It has all the elements that made me love Beach House to begin with like the massive Noire feel and a throwback sound to the roots of Pop.  But with this vast new instrumental palette on board, it’s more beautiful than ever.  For years, I worried about Beach House adding instrumental to their music.  But it’s somehow made their sound more complete than ever.  This album overall, if you haven’t guessed, is a major breath of fresh air for the band.  Beach House remains one of the genre’s dreamiest and beautiful bands while tweaking their sound just enough to remain interesting.

Bt apparently, Beach House don’t have any intention to stop surprising us.  “Woo” is the most synth-heavy track of the bunch, almost bringing in elements of SynthWave.  It’s one of the more hulking tunes here for sure, but between the multiple layers of synths and the haunting backing vocals, this one has some darkness deep down.  It may sound innocent on the surface, but Beach House’s entire discography has a haunting vibe right out of reach.  Beach House continue to master their sound, but also continue to be wildly confident and determined.  Then we have “Girl of the Year”, and I don’t know how but these tracks are literally getting bigger by the minute.  This track has some of the boldest and most pronounced synths yet.  But underneath all of the glimmering keyboards, there’s an incredibly delicate and emotional ballad.  All of a sudden, Beach House have taken us to some other-worldly Prom of sorts.  It’s a surreal one, but one that’s also more real and human than our world.  The hook is intoxicating, and this atmosphere is inescapable.  It makes me want to hold my loved ones and tell them how much they mean to me, but it also makes me want to run for my fucking life.  Only Beach House could do all of this at once.  This album ends off with “Last Ride”, and on the other hand is about to make me cry.  This track is just so delicate and gentle, and it’s absolutely beautiful.  The atmosphere is certainly thick, but it’s also one of the more inviting and warm of the entire album.  It’s also incredibly delicate, even though is still encompasses you completely.  Of all of the tracks here, this has the most nostalgia packed in and absolutely has more of a fantastic Noire sound.  It’s an immaculate song ending off an immaculate album, even if it’s not exactly the most exciting and progressive track here.  In a lot of ways, this does sound like it could have fit snuggly on a classic Beach House album.  But I would be absolutely damned if I said I didn’t get wrapped up in this.  I could go on, but I’m afraid I’m lost for words on how wonderful this album is. 

Rating: 9.2/10

Give A Listen To: “Dark Spring”, “Pay No Mind”, “Woo”, “Lose Your Smile”

Least Favorite Track: “L’Inconnue”

Genre: Dream Pop / Psychedelic Pop / Synth Pop

Overall Thoughts:  Over the last few years, I've had many worries about Beach House.  I was worried that their dreamy, hazy style was slowly running out of steam.  Even more than that, I worried that they would try to remedy that by adding in more instrumentals.  Which, spoiler alert, they do here, in a big way.  But I don't think there was any way I could truly expect the immaculate results of this album.  Beach House has transformed into a new band, with live drums and more added instrumentals than ever.  The result is just as mysterious and beautiful, but with a newfound determination.  This album is an experience beyond any I've had this year.  It reminds us that nobody builds an atmosphere or writes such incredibly beautiful songs as Beach House.  But it also reminds us that they are far from done providing us with some of the most indescribable music of this decade.