To make you smile
Somewhere in these eyes
I'm on your side"
Beach House are a dream/indie pop trio from Baltimore, Maryland. They were formed in 2004 and consist of guitarist Alex Scally, vocalist/organist Victoria Legrand, and drummer/bassist James Barone. They are known for their lush music and signature sound. Unlike most dream pop bands, they aim for a certain "theme" with their music (the duo's name should make it clear). They're also known for taking simple melodies and making them sound intense.
Their Self-Titled Album released in 2006 is usually swept under the table and forgotten about, due to its lack of real intense sound. Fans usually acknowledge its existence but try to ignore it, seeing as their work just got better. In 2008, they released Devotion, where they started to pick up their Signature Style and critical acclaim. Then, in 2010, Teen Dream was released and was again critically acclaimed.
In 2012, they released Bloom. While it isn't a cult classic like Teen Dream, it was by far their strongest-selling album, rising up to No. 4 on the Billboard Albums chart. Year-end reviews were positive, with many listing Bloom in the top 20.
Their fifth album, Depression Cherry, was released in August 2015. Citing a dissatisfaction with the sound of live drums, the band wanted a return to the sound of earlier albums, citing a focus on melodies and minimalism compared to Teen Dream and Bloom.
Also, it should be noted that this band shouldn't be judged on first glance. Their music is notoriously hard to get used to, but once that's accomplished, it's highly worth it.
Members:
- Victoria Legrand – lead vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass guitar
- Alex Scally – guitar, bass pedals, keyboards, backing vocals
- James Barone – drums, percussion, bass guitar (2022-present, touring musician 2016–2022)
Discography:
Albums:- Beach House (2006)
- Devotion (2008)
- Teen Dream (2010)
- Bloom (2012)
- Depression Cherry (2015)
- Thank Your Lucky Stars (2015)
- 7 (2018)
- Once Twice Melody (2022)
- Become (2023)
- B-Sides and Rarities
Man, you got a lot of tropes to tell:
- Animal Motif: "Zebra" is the opening track to Teen Dream, and if you look closely, the album cover is made up of several zebras of varying sizes.
- Arc Number: 7, during the lead-up to, well, 7. It's their seventh album, it brought their catalog to 77 songs, the record's initial catalog number was "777", and the debut single "Lemon Glow" was released on February 14th.note
- B-Side:
- B-Sides and Rarities is a compilation of these, along with alternate versions of released songs, some remixes, and the standalone hidden tracks.
- The Become EP is leftovers from Once Twice Melody.
- Cover Version: Covered "Some Things Last a Long Time" by Daniel Johnston on Devotion.
- Chronological Album Title: 7
- Dream Pop: One of the many indie pop bands to take this genre.
- Epic Rocking: "Irene," "PPP," "Days of Candy," "Elegy to the Void," "Last Ride," "Superstar," and "Over and Over."
- Face on the Cover: The Devotion cover shows them seated at a table around a sheet cake with the album title written on it. It is the only album of theirs that actually has them on the cover.
- Fading into the Next Song:
- The last 5 tracks on Devotion do this, as well as "Silver Soul" fading into "Norway" on Teen Dream.
- Also "On the Sea" into "Irene" on Bloom.
- Hidden Track:
- "Rain in Numbers" at the end of "Heart and Lungs."
- "Wherever You Go" is tucked into the end of the final track on Bloom, following 6½ minutes of silence after "Irene" ends.
- Location Song: "Norway."
- Minimalistic Cover Art: For Teen Dream, Bloom, Depression Cherry, and Once Twice Melody.
- One-Woman Song: "Irene."
- Precision F-Strike: "New Romance" contains the line ""Fuck it", you said, "It's beginning to look like the end"". Doubles as Cluster F-Bomb if you count the repeated ILYSFMnote abbreviations.
- Teen Dream doesn't have any swearing in its songs, but the booklet features an image of a couch with the word "FUCK" spelled out by big steel letters.
- Self-Titled Album: Although it usually gets ignored, unlike Devotion and Teen Dream. But not by the The Weeknd!
- The Something Song: "Space Song" and "Saturn Song."
- Three Chords and the Truth: The duo's music is intentionally minimal, often consisting of only voice, organ, and guitar, with a drum machine in lieu of an actual rhythm section. The song structures and chord progressions typically aren't very elaborate.
- That being said, even though their songs don't have elaborate chord progressions, they do like the use of chromaticism here and there just to make an interesting twist.
- Title by Number: 7
- Word Salad Lyrics: Not as egregious as other examples of this trope, but Legrand's lyrics are usually pretty abstract, always seeming to convey something, though it isn't quite clear what.
