Beach House
Teen Dream
Sub Pop
By David Chiu
Beach House’s third album could be the Baltimore duo’s breakthrough record. Certainly Teen Dream has a lot of tracks that border on being poppy, from the breathtaking “Norway” and “Lover of Mine” to the romantic “Walk in the Park” and “Take Care.” And perhaps the more pronounced use of percussion on this record is a step-up from the previous two albums. Yet the pop melodies merely complement or even accentuate the group’s already distinct Gothic-drone sound: the cathedral-like keyboards, the airy harmonies, the trippy guitar lines of Alex Scally and the soulful yet evocative vocals of Victoria Legrand (especially her performance on “Silver Soul”) . Bathed in lush atmospherics, this album projects a slow sound that is so elegant, beautiful and haunting. We’ve just started 2010, but Teen Dream could already be one of this year’s best records so far.
A video for the song “Norway” by Beach House:
NewBeats 