Beach House

Beach House
Thank Your Lucky Stars
Sub Pop
By David Chiu

Christmas really came early for Beach House fans this year. Not only did the Baltimore-based duo of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally put out Depression Cherry just a few months ago, but they’ve now released another fine new studio effort in Thank Your Lucky Stars. Musically Stars still has that distinct Beach House sound from the previous albums—very gauzy, trippy, and somber– although in a press release, the duo said: “In this way, the record feels very new for us, and a great departure from our last few records. Thematically, this record often feels political.” If there are some departures on the new album, maybe they could be found on a few of the tracks: the lilting “Majorette” has a bit of a soul/funk feel due to the percussion; “All Your Yeahs” is kind of reminiscent of early ’80s postpunk/synthpop; and the album’s closer, the waltz-like “Somewhere,” harkens back to something out of ’50s pop. Otherwise, Stars still feels like a very familiar Beach House record – and that’s a good thing – from the majestic ballad “One Thing” through the Gothic-sounding “Common Girl,” to the lovely sounding “Rough Song.” Scally’s piercing, atmospheric guitar work really comes to forefront on a few of the tracks like “One Thing” and “Elegy”; Legrand’s keyboard work and whispery voice continue to lend that mysterious sense of aura to the songs’ dreamy narratives. Thank Your Lucky Stars is another sublime studio record from the duo—for fans, it’s like hitting the motherlode twice.