Beach House follows up 2010′s Teen Dream with my favorite album of 2012 so far. Bloom is a devastating masterpiece that removes any filler that may have kept Teen Dream from perfection. The album was shared with me just days before I left to spend a week in an oceanfront house last month in the Outer Banks. It might sound cliche, but the ethereal nature of Bloom works best during moments of physical and mental rest, and it served as the ideal soundtrack to intoxication and sunsets for seven days.
I officially fell in love with music long ago during a three-hour road trip through Oregon to an airport in Washington unbuckled in the cargo area of a station wagon. My mom snatched us from school with the aid of a social worker to flee from my abusive father on our way back to NJ. All I had to keep me company was an old Walkman, some headphones, and Fleetwood Mac’s Tango in the Night. That tape occupied my ten-year-old brain during the tail end of a tumultuous series of events, and I have been indebted to Fleetwood Mac ever since. My parents have long since divorced, and I now look for different brands of escape in music. Bloom instantly reminded me of the addicting spirit of and shares an eerily similar musical space with Tango in the Night.
I usually write about highlights in album reviews, but there really are no unique standouts here. Each day brings a new favorite track. Of course, we’ve had access to “Myth” the longest, and it served as a perfect introduction to Bloom. From the opening bell and shakers to Alex Scally’s mesmerizing slide guitar to Victoria LeGrand’s impeccable pitch, “Myth” will likely appear on countless song-of-the-year lists. “New Year” features Legrand at the top of her game, broadening her already expansive palette of vocal melodies and range to fit Scally’s reverbed guitar like a glove. There are layers upon layers of atmospheric synths and effects throughout Bloom that are placed on top of addicting melodies that circle for five minutes and never overstay their welcome. Bloom’s second single “Lazuli” is a prime example of a track layered with lush and ethereal sounds that build into a celestial crescendo. It’s “Lazuli’s” crescendo that mostly reminds me of Tango in the Night. Christine McVie’s “Everywhere” comes to mind immediately.
There is not much new territory explored by the band on Bloom, and this is not necessarily a bad thing. They have perfected a formula, cultivated their sound, and matured as musicians, all while employing an “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” approach. I’m lucky enough to be attending tomorrow night’s Bowery show in New York, which sold out in less than a minute. It sure as hell beats the back of a station wagon.
Panda Bear follows up the all-time great Person Pitch, an effort that won him unanimous critical acclaim, with a moody, guitar-driven collection of hit-or-miss anthems. The album serves as a near-perfect soundtrack to the summer but doesn’t warrant the repeat listens of his former masterstroke. To be fair, practically nothing would. The pressure to follow up one of our generation’s most unique, creative, and addicting records was a task that even Noah Lennox was not going to be able to pull off.