Bloom

Formed in 2004 the indie dream pop duo Beach House consists of Victoria Legrand & Alex Scally (they're from Baltimore, Maryland). 'Bloom' is their 4th album with debut 'Beach House' (2006), 'Devotion' (2008) & 'Teen Dream' (2010). After initial listens then, even if not completely exciting, all tracks are of a really high quality with no duds. Opening 'Myth' with emotion being generated via exciting instrumentation nuances & the gentle husky vocal from Victoria sets the tone. 'Wild' continues the magic as it majestically propels the listening mood onwards. Then 'Lazuli' with its fantastic intro carries us to epic proportions. Virtually impossible to choose the best amongst this triumvirate but I'd chose 'Lazuli' especially when it moves into "like no other you can't be replaced". 'Other People', 'The Hours', 'Troublemaker', 'New Year' (really beautiful), 'Wishes' (another gem which grows with each listen) continues this hypnotic effect. 9th track 'On The Sea' with its plodding beautiful piano chords is another sublime & brilliant piece equal to any of the opening trio. "Shadows bend & suddenly the world becomes and swallows me in" "whistle to a friend gentle to the end". The most emotional here. If that wasn't enough then every time I hear final track 'Irene' "it's a strange paradise" than am moved to play the guitar as it is just so inspirational with that guitar strum on repetition. After a long period of silence there is a hidden track. One small point is that to read the lyrics in the accompanying CD booklet I needed to find a magnifying glass ;-) OK there is a slight lack of energy & excitement & Victoria doesn't have the strongest voice but they know all about beauty & melody with the end result being a supreme beautiful dream pop fuelled melodic excursion. Blonde Redhead's 2010 album 'Penny Sparkle' set the high standard for beautiful dream pop but this in its own way is almost the equal of that. Perhaps best track is 'Lazuli' and have this also on a Record Store Day limited 7" lazuli coloured vinyl. Almost the album of 2012 (2nd) but that accolade by a smidgeon goes to Cameras 'In Your Room' (1st) with then Gemma Ray 'Island Fire' (3rd) & Dog Is Dead 'All Our Favourite Stories' (4th) also closely there.

Teen Dream has been one of my favourite albums ever since I heard the opening notes of Zebra, and it would feel completely alien not to mention it before beginning a review of their latest album. After Beach House, Devotion and Teen Dream sharing a similar, if slightly evolving sound, I'm sure I wasn't the only one excited to hear how Beach House tackled the challenge of their fourth studio album. Unfortunately they tackled it by creating more of the same. I say unfortunately, but really, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. They've created a wonderful, unique sound that their fans love. The problem is that they've now create four albums with the same sound. Teen Dream seemed to be the pinnacle of this, and if anything their newest offering seems to disregard some of the techniques they acquired for their last album. But, looking at the album without any preconceptions (which is almost impossible) it does what any Beach House fan needed it to do. It creates dreamy moods and features some of Victoria Legrand's finest lyrical work in their entire discography. It's not by any means a bad album, but personally I would have liked to see them take their style in a slightly different direction.Best Song: Lazuli7.7/10for a more detailed review, visit my blog:[...]

This album has a similar dreamy soundcape to the previous excellent Teen Dream . It features lots of moody keyboards from Victoria Le Grand with Alex Scully accompanying on guitar and keyboards . There are often dense arrangements, creating an ambient soundscape wash. Victoria Le Grand's lead vocals can sometimes be difficult to make out, but more lyrics emerge from the mix than on the previous album. These songs grow on you, with subtle nuances discovered on repeated listens , and they continue to create their own unique sound, maybe not disimilar to the Cocteau Twins at times. The arrangements are perhaps a bit more varied than on the previous album, but overall they never stray too far from the characteristic sound that they make together. So this is a gradual evolution, nothing revolutionary, ploughing their own distinct furrow. 10 new tracks gently flow over you ,immersing you in their ambient sound. With the high quality of their last offering, they seem to have taken the attitude if it ain't broke, no need for a radical fix, just a few tweaks here and there. It is their second strong album on the trot.

I have been a big, big fan of this band for some time. I picked up on a random track from them that was used for a movie trailer & it cut me to my soul. On the strength of that, I played this album on YouTube & one of the reviewers said something like; "I keep thinking this my favourite track but the next one is now my favourite & then another one steals my heart... " & of course, she was right because the same thing happened to me. Outstanding musicianship & if you don't have your soul ripped out by this ethereal, dreamy, chord bending duo then frankly guys, you ain't making it!People like Ed Sheeran must just sit down & cry as to why he cannot write stuff like this.If this album was £50 then I still have my monies worth.