With Devotion, Beach House prove once again that they're one of the more strangely named bands around. Their music is so lonely, so haunting, that the only beach house it evokes is a deserted one, stranded on a winter night so desolate that summer isn't even a memory. Then again, that atmosphere is precisely what made Beach House's self-titled debut so striking, and Devotion is even more so, since Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally bring more focus, depth, and warmth to their unmistakable sound. Tracks like "Gila" and "Turtle Island" show that all the pair need to build a mood are their vintage-sounding drum machines, keyboards, and layers of Legrand's womanly, velvety voice, but Beach House spend just as much time expanding their horizons as they do delivering their definitive sound. Devotion begins with "Wedding Bells," which, with its fuzzed-out guitar, keyboard filigrees, harpsichords, and pedal steel, is one of the duo's most elaborate songs yet. It's also one of Beach House's most immediate, fully formed songs, something that this album has far more of than the band's debut. "You Came to Me" is a stunner, melding dark chamber pop ambience with lyrics that feel like they came from a surreal '70s AM radio hit. "Heart of Chambers" is downright soulful, with Legrand's keening voice and swelling organs giving it a truly devotional cast. Not surprisingly, given the album's title, Devotion's songs deal with love and loyalty, or the lack thereof: "Some Things Last (A Long Time)" is an aptly torchy, country-tinged ballad about carrying a torch for someone; "Astronaut" pines for a crush to be requited, filtering the innocence and drama of girl group pop through the band's gauzy approach. "Home Again" is just as sweet -- but not nearly as reassuring -- as its title suggests, setting lyrics like "Something about the way a heart is nailed above a hand" to finger snaps and a melody with a wintry sparkle. Like Beach House, Devotion sounds like it was made for, and possibly in, the dead of night. This time, though, Beach House's dark moods have more shades, and even a little bit of light, making them all the more compelling.
Baltimore-based duo Beach House traffic in the dreamiest brand of pop, recalling bands like Mojave 3 and Mazzy Star. "Heart of Chambers" from Devotion sees Victoria Legrand's glacial organ and longing voice blending with Alex Scally's wispy guitar lines to gorgeous effect.
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On their recent swing through Europe, Alex and Victoria seem to have partaken freely of all local cultures and their relevant web-friendly music features. To wit: The Baltimore duo accepted the challenge of writing and recording an original piece of music for the Norwegian show Lydverket a few months ago, to very pretty albeit typically sepia-tinged results. Sorta to wit: I imagine they were i...
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Beach House is set to release their first 7" single on October 21, featuring a new song called "Used To Be," and a demo version of one of the very first songs the duo ever recorded. According to the band:"Recorded over the summer of 2008 after many exhaustive months of touring, "Used To Be" contemplates the spiritual and physical effects of life on the everchanging road, love and getting older....
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Ah, Beach House. Second post for the 29th. Couldn't help it really, I don't work Fridays during the day, I really have nothing better to do. And besides, Devotion is just so great- dreamlike, shoegaze-y, abstract, bizzarre. I love how it sounds just like the stuff from their first S/T album but enhanced, sort of. Illusory yet pragmatic. Easy to listen to when you're doing absolutely nothing, or...
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"Your picture is still on my wall, on my wall. The colors are bright, bright as ever. Red is strong. Blue is true. Some things last a long time. Some things last a long time "Sweet cover. I love the sound of crackling fire in the background. I imagine someone looking at a polaroid, like this one, of some old flame taped to their wall, with a glass of wine in their hands and closing the...
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Baltimore-based duo Beach House traffic in the dreamiest brand of pop, recalling bands like Mojave 3 and Mazzy Star. "Heart of Chambers" from Devotion sees Victoria Legrand's glacial organ and longing voice blending with Alex Scally's wispy guitar lines to gorgeous effect.
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Beach House released their dreamy new album Devotion this week (Feb 26th) and the video for "Heart of Chambers" was close behind. Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand make the kind of music that nice ladies make when misbehaving at home with guitars and the percussion section in old organs. Then they somehow twirl the audio around and around and around until its dizzy and listening to it will mak...
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Got some work to do, or just feeling like a good long stare out the window? Spin this...
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--- - |- Photo by Kyle GustafsonLooks like Dan Deacon has finally made good on his promise to deliver a "round robin" tour brimming over with Baltimore's finest, and, oh lordy, where to begin?Let's start with the artists: there are a jaw-dropping 29 in all, and Mr. Deacon has done us the service of dividing them into three distinct groups."Eyes Night" includes Beach House, Jana Hunter, Wzt Hea...
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I missed these guys when they played with The Clientele in Atlanta. However I later got to see them with another one of my favorite bands Papercuts in that same city earlier this year. Their music reminds me of sage grass, red wine and a big antique house with shiny dark furniture.
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Every week, Amazon.com lets us select one album from its MP3 store to go on super sale (up to 75% off normal prices). At Amazon's request, going forward we're going to feature recent releases instead of old albums you probably already own. Hopefully you'll be able to add these newer must-own LPs to your library without breaking your budget. Today's deal: Beach House's Devotion.Devotion is the p...
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As you may know, I never get tired of Beach House live videos . Pitchfork.tv has posted the first two segments of their three part series with Victoria Alex , featuring the band playing live in Juan's Basement . Here's Devotion standout "Holy Dances "; watch the clip for "Gila " here : ~~
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A beautiful new Black Cab Session, in which B-more's Beach House plays a stark acoustic version of Devotion standout "Heart of Chambers; no further description required: (this new player they're using might take a minute to load, but it's well worth it)~~
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These are songs from the year 2008 that I like. Ten words.
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Not sure when this was recorded, but it sure sounds like a b-side. That is, this wouldn't knock anything off of the near-perfect Devotion, but whatever, new Beach House is new Beach House.
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With Devotion, Baltimore's poptronica standout Beach House made one of the finest albums of 2008. It's looking to close the year on a high note, with a new single, a short tour and a confirmed spot at the top of...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Wedding Bell |
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| 2 You Came to Me |
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| 3 Gila |
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| 4 Turtle Island |
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| 5 Holy Dances |
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| 6 All the Year |
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| 7 Heart of Chambers |
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| 8 Some Things Last (A Long Time) |
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| 9 Astronaut |
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| 10 D.A.R.L.I.N.G. |
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| 11 Home Again |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Devotion")
