BEACH HOUSE

Beach House | Shawn Brackbill

When the Baltimore-based dream pop duo Beach House released Depression Cherry and Thank Your Lucky Stars in late 2015 a month and half between each other, they made a gutsy move. It was a lot to take in, but over time, the albums grew on this writer, and when a tour stop in Fort Lauderdale was announced, earlier this year, I jumped at the chance to drop down the money for a ticket, as with this ticket comes the opportunity to influence the set list. Below is a case for three songs, two of which are from the latest releases and one of which is a standout in all of the band’s career.

“Elegy to the Void,” from Lucky Stars, is one of the prime examples of Beach House’s talents to build something majestic from the seemingly minimal: A pulsing synth melody that shifts between keys, as singer/keyboardist Victoria Legrand sings dreamily, “waiting for the light to come again,” as if prophesying the song’s brilliant crescendo driven by Alex Scally’s sparse guitar lines, which loop and build to screeching heights of melodiousness.

Beach House | Liz Flyntz

Then, there’s the deceptively simply titled, “PPP,” from Depression Cherry. Its charms lie in a crisper, cleaner guitar melody and Legrand’s cooing vocals. Again, it’s about dynamics that transport listeners to a casual ecstasy. It also perfectly compliments Legrand’s vocals, “Did you see it coming?/It happened so fast.” It rises to this beautiful guitar solo teased at during the earlier part of the song.

The drift of a Beach House song is best captured in “Irene,” however. From the duo’s third album, BIoom. It builds on a simple harmonic organ drone and lashing electric guitar strumming. Again, there are teases of a hook that the band retracts only to return to drones that buoy Legrand’s luscious vocals until finally building to the revealing refrain, “It’s a strange paradise,” which indeed it is.

Beach House at Revolution Live, Fort Lauderdale, Saturday, May 27, at 7pm. All Ages. Purchase Tickets. 

~ Hans Morgenstern | The Independent Ethos (indieethos.com)