Beach House Sails In With a Grin
Sub Pop Picks Another Winner with Teen Dream's Inevitable Hooks
Beach House
Teen Dream
Released on Jan 26, 2010
When Beach House packaged “Norway” and dropped it on the doorsteps of the blogosphere on November 17th of last year, it was immediately labeled as one of the best songs of this year. With its drunken, woozy synths and longingly powerful vocals in the chorus, it was simultaneously the Beach House we all knew and loved as well as something new and different entirely. It had the familiar sanitized guitars and church organs of the Beach House of yesteryear, but it also borrowed psych-stoner synths from chillwave and the powerful vocals of girl-group pop.
Upon repeated listens, it became abundantly clear that “Norway” deserved a spot in the list of the best singles ever released, if and when such a list exists. Like Animal Collective’s “My Girls,” Dirty Projectors’ “Stillness Is The Move,” Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks” and Phoenix’s “1901,” “Norway” foretold of the arrival of an amazing album. But “Norway” also represented a significant achievement unto itself: it is a song that simply needs to be heard by everyone. Indie animosity towards mainstream success aside, the song begs to be featured in car commercials, on Starbucks compilations and your dad’s iPod.
As it happens, Teen Dream as a whole is no less an experience in perfection. If Beach House’s 2006 eponymous debut and 2008’s Devotion were stepping stones in the band’s journey towards finding its sound, Teen Dream is the band atop Mt. Everest, proudly peering down at its previous output but inevitably basking in the bright light of bountiful perfection. Sonically, at least, Teen Dream is a rehash of the sounds that made Beach House so initially promising: the melodic but muted guitar arpeggios, the simple percussion, the undulating organs and the hauntingly beautiful chanteuse that is singer Victoria Legrand. But Teen Dream is a sonic leap forward in terms of its musical arrangements and songcraft.
“Norway” is simply a standout in an album full of them. From opener “Zebra,” with its oohs and aahs and off-step snare hit, to “Take Care,” with its comforting promise to take care of us, the listener, Teen Dream doesn’t miss a beat. It’s no coincidence that Teen Dream arrives early in the New Year, much like Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion did last year. A January release allows for maximum possible absorption into listeners’ hearts and minds. Over the next eleven months, it will be critiqued and debated, sought after and pulled from shelves, passed from friend to co-worker to corporate executive, until it cements itself as a definitive album of the year.
High Point
If Beach House’s freshman and sophomore releases on Carpark were promising, then Teen Dream, the band’s first for Sub Pop, is the Promised Land.
Low Point
If there’s a sour note on the album, it’s during the chorus of “Lover of Mine.” Otherwise an incredible song, the note Legrand hits when she sings the word “fear” rang my ears the wrong way. Oh well.
Posted by Ben Wadington on Jan 28, 2010 @ 6:30 am
