Beach House have become adept at crafting a brand of soaring pop music that it’s hard not to be charmed by, and although ‘Bloom’ finds Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally in familiar territory, this, their fourth record, may just be their best offering yet.
The band makes little attempt to break new ground here, but this is rendered irrelevant due to the quality and craftsmanship of the song-writing, which manages to combine being joyful, tender and pensive all at once. Lead single ‘Myth’ sets the tone, an amateurish drum machine giving way to a glittering, euphoric refrain that eloquently fills the space between these basic foundations. Whereas ‘The Hours’ is another excellent example of the kind of song Beach House excel at; a dense, reverb heavy vocal harmony, dreamy soundscapes, catchy melodies and the near-perfect chemistry between Legrand’s ethereal vocals, the bright synths and Scally’s charming guitar licks.
Elsewhere, the wind-up music box intro of ‘Lazuli’ somehow evokes an image of a calm lake in summer, where ripples from fallen pebbles disturb the water. “Like no other you can’t be replaced,” Legrand confusingly repeats over the outro, but there’s a sincerity there, and you can forgive the bad grammar when the sentiment feels this genuine.
As was true with Beach House’s last album ‘Teen Dream’, the second half of ‘Bloom’ is less affecting. They’ve found their niche, and it’s understandable that they’re reluctant to change a winning formula. The aesthetics of the music are consistent and unchanging, and for this reason, it can be frustrating that the band makes the decision to pack all their best songs at the beginning of their records. Over-excitement maybe; it certainly comes across that Beach House enjoy making music, and when most of their songs tend to rely on the same tricks, it’s perhaps logical that they rely on the immediacy of pleasure the listener experiences when they’re at the top of their game.
The final track, ‘Irene,’ is something of an anti-climax, not quite reaching the counter-point between blissed-out euphoria and subtle sadness that the best of their songs do. A rather jarring two minutes half way through this insipid number is unexpectedly thrust into the mix, a droning note played repetitively on a keyboard catches the listener off guard, wondering whether the record is skipping and pressing the stop button with a shrug that says “Ok, so they ran out of ideas.”
These quibbles aside, ‘Bloom’ mostly packs the punches in the right way. When the band are at their best, the arrangements are splendid, the combination of Legrand’s plaintive, fertile vocals and the brightness of the synths and chiming guitar work from Scally working wonders.
