Beach House are a band who have often seemed to punch above their weight. They’ve headlined venues like the Union Chapel, usually home to more established acts, and are supporting superstar bands like Grizzly Bear1 at the Roundhouse in a few months. The cynic might put this down to singer Victoria Legrand’s musical connections (her uncle is Michel Legrand), but the generous part of me would like to think it’s because their music is instantly appealing to pretty much everyone. Mining a seam of dream-pop that lies somewhere between the female-led ethereality of Cocteau Twins or Mazzy Star and the female-led new-gaze of Blonde Redhead or Asobi Seksu, their first two albums have earnt them a passionate fanbase. Admittedly, having the backing of Pitchfork probably helped too…

Lead single “Norway”, which is being given away free on their site, is the new “Gila”. It’s instantly arresting, retains its sheen after repeated listens and shows off Legrand’s vocal dexterity. But there are plenty of other highlights too – the rerecorded version of 2008 single “Used To Be” isn’t wildly different to the original, and is still a beautifully lilting sad song about the end of a relationship. My personal highlight of the album is the lovely “10 Mile Stereo”, on which Legrand sounds more Nicoesque than ever with her deep, melancholy voice.

If you’ll forgive the worst segue ever, Alex Scally’s arrangements could also be termed ‘Nicoesque’, though in reference to Nico Muhly. Thanks to Muhly and Final Fantasy’s Owen Pallett2, delicate arrangements have become par for the north American indie-rock course, but Scally holds his own here. If there’s one small criticism to be made, it’s that a few of the songs here sound quite similar to each other. For example, “Silver Soul” and “Norway” share a similar rhythm as Legrand sings “It’s happening agai-ai-ain” and “Norway-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay”, while album closer “Take Care” seems to contain elements of several of the other songs on the album, while managing one of those lovely, rare album endings where you don’t realise it’s finished immediately.

This really is a very minor criticism, though, and since I put the CD in my CD player it’s barely left it. Devotion made them a big band – this will only make them bigger. It has a fuller, lusher sound and feels somehow more mature, both lyrically and with regard to the instrumentation. Of the big-name releases coming out early this year, of which there are quite a few, this is one that people are rightly getting excited about. I’d recommend buying it3 – not least because it’ll come packaged with a DVD with videos for each of the songs. I know it’s early in the year, but Scally & Legrand have helped to get 2010 off to a great start. Long may it continue.

MP3s:
10 Mile Stereo
Take Care

1 In fact, Legrand contributed backing vocals to Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks”.
2 Soon to release another long-awaited album, this time under his own name.
3 Buying it from Sub Pop will get you a free pre-release stream and some cool stuff made by Victoria especially for them.

Advertisement