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Beach House - Bloom

Beach House

Bloom

Sub Pop; 2012

A 

Beach House is the type of band that doesn't "wow" you right off the bat. This seems to be the trade off these days for albums that have long term re-play value. It's the catchy, simple sing  along songs that tend to get stale rather quickly and we tend to look back at them as being certain "phases". In Beach House's, Bloom, we have an album that could be easily overlooked after the initial listen. It's a shame really considering the more you listen to this, the more of it that gets uncovered each time and it seems to get better overtime. 

The album opens up with "Myth" which is arguably the best track on the album and quite possibly the best track of 2012. It feels odd being placed as the album opener and I feel it would work better as a closing track since it's rather slow opening and powerful ending. You could also make the case that it is the perfect opener considering the tone the song sets for the rest of the album. "Wild" is the next track up and what I would consider to be a better opening track since it's a bit more aggressive and draws you in to their music. Beach House does a fantastic job transitioning their tracks in halves and always builds up to a second half of the track where Victoria LeGrand really dazzles with her sultry lyrics. 

As if the start of the album can't get much better they have to place "Lazuli", another highlight track, as the third song. This track packs a serious punch and offers one of the better second half transitions, I mentioned earlier, on the entire album. While most of the tracks you only really nod your head to, "Other People" may be the only one you might find your self humming to the lyrics as it has a definitive chorus that is rather catchy. "The Hours" is one of the more up-beat tracks while "Troublemaker" is one of the more passionate ones. Seeing Victoria belt out the chorus for "Troublemaker" is worth the price of admission. 

"New Year" is a driving track that creates the typical atmospheric sound of Beach House. "Wishes" is a slow building track with the typical second half payoff. "On the Sea" and "Irene" are perfect closing tracks to a perfect album. 

Sometimes music acts as something to sing along to in the car, dance to in a club, play at a wedding, play at a funeral...but great music creates an atmosphere for you to experience while listening to it and Beach House's Bloom does one of the better jobs with that that you will ever hear.


Highlight Tracks:
"Myth"
"Wishes" 
"Troublemaker"
"Wild"

Other Review(s):

Pitchfork: 9.1 of 10
Pop Matters: 10 of 10
Filter: 8.8 of 10

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Soap & Skin - Narrow

Soap & Skin

Narrow

PIAS Recordings; 2012

B+ 

Anja Plaschg's follow up to Lovetune for Vacuum has finally arrived, 3 years later. Lovetune just might have been the greatest album no one listened to in the 2000's. Anja created a masterpiece that was hauntingly beautiful. Her ability to combine her sultry voice, well composed piano riffs, and out-of-nowhere electronic soundscapes made me feel she would be more than a one album wonder. Narrow features all of the above and while it would be impossible to top Lovetune, it is a worthy follow-up.

"Vater" seems like Anja's way of getting right into it. Instead of  giving us one of her breathtaking intros she begins the album by singing shortly after a simple piano riff. It starts off fairly well but seems to lack the substance found on Lovetune. It's not until 2:45 when she seemingly gets bored of the new direction she was headed and does a near 180 by returning to her roots. When everything comes together at 4:00 the payoff is definitely worth it....Soap & Skin has returned.

"Voyage, Voyage" is another excellent track and while "Deathmental" and "Cradlesong" aren't the strongest tracks on the album, they are still solid. "Wonder" is one of the highlight tracks as it might be one of her most accessible song's in her entire catalog. "Boat Turns Toward The Port" has some haunting vocals and much like Sigur Ros, sometimes the way vocals are delivered can be much more powerful than lyrics themselves. I would have to imagine the album might have felt more complete if she used this track as the closer.

Overall, this album is short but sweet and although it doesn't have the "album of the decade" feel Lovetune did, it is still very solid. At only 22, it seems like we can look forward to more masterpieces by the great Anja Plaschg.

 
Highlight Tracks:
"Vater"
"Wonder" 
"Boat Turns Towards The Port"

Other Review(s):

BBC: 8 of 10