Beach House

Beach House
Beach House performing live at Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo, 2018
Background information
Origin Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Genres
Years active 2004–present
Labels
Website www.beachhousebaltimore.com
Members

Beach House is an American dream pop duo formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 2004. The band consists of vocalist and keyboardist Victoria Legrand and guitarist, keyboardist, and backup vocalist Alex Scally.

Their self-titled debut album was released in 2006 to critical acclaim and has been followed by Devotion (2008), Teen Dream (2010), Bloom (2012), Depression Cherry and Thank Your Lucky Stars (2015), B-sides and Rarities (2017), and 7 (2018).

History

Formation and Beach House

Vocalist and organist Victoria Legrand, who graduated from Vassar College in 2003, and guitarist Alex Scally, who graduated from Oberlin College in 2004, formed the band in 2004 after meeting in Baltimore's indie rock scene, producing music composed largely of organ, programmed drums, and slide guitar.[1] Of the origins of the band name Scally said: "We’d been writing music, and we had all these songs, and then there was that moment where you say ‘what do we call ourselves?’ We tried to intellectualize it, and it didn’t work. There were different plant-names, Wisteria, that kind of thing. Stupid stuff. But, once we stopped trying, it just came out, it just happened. And it just seemed perfect."[2] In an interview with Pitchfork, Legrand addressed their being a two-member status thus: "[I]t's a way to challenge ourselves: What do you do when it's just the two of you? ... [O]ne of the reasons this has been such a fulfilling experience for me is that with two people, it's so much easier to achieve things that feel exciting and new."[3]

Then, in August 2006, their song "Apple Orchard" was featured on a Pitchfork MP3 mixtape. By October 2006 the band's self-titled debut album, Beach House, was released through Carpark Records, and was ranked 16th on Pitchfork's Best Albums of that year.[4]

Devotion and other projects

Beach House's second album, Devotion, was released on February 26, 2008. It was received with similar acclaim as the first album and was likewise included in Pitchfork's Best Albums of 2008 list.[5] On October 21, 2008, the group released the single "Used to Be".

Beach House also recorded a cover of Queen's "Play the Game" for the iTunes Store release of the Red Hot Organization's 2009 compilation Dark Was The Night.

In 2009, Legrand provided backing vocals on the song "Two Weeks" by the indie rock band Grizzly Bear. She later collaborated with the band again by providing vocals to "Slow Life", the band's contribution to the soundtrack for the film Twilight: New Moon.

In October 2010, the band contributed a charity T-shirt for the Yellow Bird Project to raise money for the House of Ruth women's shelter in Maryland for victims of domestic violence.[6]

Teen Dream

Beach House at the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival

Teen Dream, the duo's "dynamic and intense"[7] third album, was released on Sub Pop on January 26, 2010.[8] It was released in the UK by Bella Union and in Mexico by Arts & Crafts. It contains a newer version of their 2008 single "Used to Be". Meanwhile, "Norway" was made available as a free download on the band's website on November 17, 2009;[9] it was later promoted on iTunes as the Free Single of the Week starting January 12, 2010. The album was produced and engineered by Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, Grizzly Bear).[10] Music videos were made both for songs, "Silver Soul" and "Real Love", created by famed collective, The Masses.[11][12][13] The album's unanimously positive reviews garnered the band a larger fan base, with Jay-Z and Beyoncé being spotted at the band's shows.[14]

Teen Dream was listed as No. 5 on Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2010 with the following notes:

Teen Dream did little to alter Beach House's core characteristics---slow-motion beats layered with hazy keyboard drones, rippling guitar figures, and Victoria Legrand's melancholic melodies---but greatly amplified them to the point of redefining the band's essence, from that of introverted knee-gazers into an assured, emotionally assertive force. -- Stuart Berman[15]

Of the success of the album and it being dubbed the group's "breakout" record by numerous publications, Legrand stated: "I see this as just another step in a direction. I would not want to say that 2010 will be our year, necessarily, I hope it’s just another year in which we do good work. I don’t want to be defined by this year, I want it to just be a beginning."[16]

The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[17]

Bloom

Beach House, May 13, 2012, The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC

On March 7, 2012 the band streamed a new song, "Myth", from their website. The album Bloom was released on May 15, 2012 via Sub Pop. A second song from the album, "Lazuli", was released on April 13, 2012.[18] Beach House was featured on the cover of Issue #80 of the Fader.[19] A music video for "Lazuli" was released on June 6, 2012.[20] It was directed by Allen Cordell, who also directed the video for "Walk in the Park" from Teen Dream. A music video for the track "Wild" has also been released. A music video for "Wishes" directed by Eric Wareheim and starring Ray Wise was released on March 7, 2013.[21]

The band released a short film, Forever Still, on February 4, 2013.[22] The film, directed by the band and Max Goldman, was inspired by Pink Floyd's Live at Pompeii and features the band performing songs from Bloom at various sites around Tornillo, Texas, where the album was recorded.[23] The idea for the film came from the band's desire to make quality promotional content they could control artistically: "We had previously been involved in too many live sessions, radio tapings, photo shoots, etc., where the outcome was far below our personal artistic standards. We also felt a need to distance ourselves from the 'content' culture of the internet that rewards quantity over quality and shock over nuance."[24]

Depression Cherry and Thank Your Lucky Stars

On May 26, 2015 the band announced the release of their fifth album Depression Cherry. The album was released on August 28 via Sub Pop (on Bella Union in the UK)[25] and the band announced a world tour in support. Talking of the direction of the new album, the band said "In general, this record shows a return to simplicity, with songs structured around a melody and a few instruments, with live drums playing a far lesser role. With the growing success of Teen Dream and Bloom, the larger stages and bigger rooms naturally drove us towards a louder, more aggressive place; a place farther from our natural tendencies. Here, we continue to let ourselves evolve while fully ignoring the commercial context in which we exist.".[26] This LP received praise from critics.[27]

On October 7, 2015, the band announced a sixth album, entitled Thank Your Lucky Stars, which was released on October 16, 2015.[28]

On September 28, 2015, popular music webzine Spin reported that the band had performed a new song called "Helicopter Dream (I'm Awake)" on Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne's new podcast.[29] Other music webzines also reported on the purported new track, including Consequence of Sound,[30] Fact,[31] and Stereogum[32] However, according to the band's representatives, the song was a fake. In an email to Spin, their representatives state, "It is not a new song. Not even their voices on that podcast. Sorry!"[29] This led to a thinkpiece from the gossip blog Gawker, which used the hoax as an example of "how easy it is to fool a blogger".[33]

Notably, reaction to the fake track was largely favorable, with Spin calling it a "fuzzy space-odyssey"[29] and Consequence of Sound describing it as "a reverb-soaked number."[30] Even the band itself gave a positive review, tweeting, "To whoever made that fake podcast interview, we like your helicopter dream song."[34] The fake song and podcast hoax was named by Vice's Noisey as one of "The Best Trolls of 2015."[35]

B-Sides and Rarities and 7

On January 31, 2017, the band announced a North American tour. In addition, they announced that they were working on a compilation of B-Sides and rarities.[36] The compilation, B-Sides and Rarities, was eventually released on June 30, 2017 and was supported by a new song, "Chariot", which served as the lead single of the compilation and one of the two previously unreleased songs on it.[37]

On February 15, 2018, the band released a new song, "Lemon Glow," and announced it is from their upcoming album which they said would be released "later this spring."[38] On March 7, the band released another song from the album, "Dive", alongside an announcement of the album's title, 7. The album was released on May 11, 2018.[39]

Musical style and influences

Singer Victoria Legrand's vocals have often been compared to those of Nico.[40] Some music outlets have also compared Legrand's vocals to 1980s psychedelic rock vocalist Kendra Smith of the band Opal. Guitarist Alex Scally plays a Fender Stratocaster guitar in an E♭ Tuning. The group's influences include This Mortal Coil, Cocteau Twins, The Zombies, Brian Wilson, Françoise Hardy, Neil Young, Big Star, Tony, Caro and John and Chris Bell.

Beach House re-recorded the Tony, Caro and John song "Snowdon Song" and renamed it "Lovelier Girl". The song was released on the band's self-titled album with no attribution. Initially, Tony Dore of Tony, Caro and John stated, "I haven't seen much yet in terms of royalties or acknowledgement of authorship". Several months later, however, Dore disclosed that discussions had taken place to apply proper attribution on re-releases of the self-titled album.[41]

Legrand has described creating new music and releasing albums as a necessity for the band, saying, "When we decide that a record is finished, I think it's really about coming to terms with saying 'OK, I think we've done everything that we could do, and now it's time to let these things go.' Because if we hold onto them, we might destroy them or they might never come out. There are all different types of artists and I think that some people like to hold onto things and they get very perfectionistic. But perfectionism is kind of a synonym for destruction. It can really be a deterrent for one's evolution. Alex and I have always felt that putting records out is very necessary. It's a gut feeling we have."[42]

Live performances

The band has toured extensively worldwide. Of touring, Legrand stated: "[W]e love touring. That's when you get to get into a rhythm, playing every night. It can be really fun. And I think you learn where you want to go with your music."[43]

In March 2009, the band was featured at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.[44] In April 2010, the band performed at the Coachella Festival in Indio, California. In June 2010, the band surmounted "technical difficulties due to too much MDMA" while playing a set on The Park Stage at Glastonbury.[45] In August 2010, the band joined Vampire Weekend on tour as one of their two opening acts, the other being the Dum Dum Girls. In October 2010, Beach House played at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. On December 20, 2010 the band performed on Conan.

The band was chosen by Animal Collective to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival they curated in May 2011,[46] and also by Portishead to perform at the ATP I'll Be Your Mirror festival that they curated in July 2011 at London's Alexandra Palace.[47] On May 29, 2011 the band played at the Sasquatch! Music Festival. On July 31, 2011 the band played at the Fuji Rock music festival in Niigata, Japan. On October 16, 2011, the band played at the Treasure Island Music Festival. On May 18, 2012, they appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and on Sunday July 15, 2012, they performed the closing set on the Red Stage during the Pitchfork Music Festival.

In May 2012, the band appeared on Later... with Jools Holland[48] playing "Myth" and "Lazuli" from their 2012 album, Bloom. On July 26, 2012 they performed the Bloom cuts "Wild" and "Wishes" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

On October 17, 2015, the band performed "One Thing" from their album Thank Your Lucky Stars (which debuted the same night) on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Beach House performed at Coachella 2016[49] as well as Pickathon 2016 outside of Portland, Oregon[50] and FYF Fest 2016 in Los Angeles, California. On July 15, 2016, the band headlined the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, Illinois.[51] On August 13 the band played at the Eaux Claires music festival in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.[52]

Band members

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
US
[54]		 UK
[55]
Beach House ——
Devotion
  • Released: February 26, 2008
  • Label: Carpark
  • Formats: LP, CD, cassette, digital download
 195—
Teen Dream
  • Released: January 26, 2010
  • Label: Sub Pop
  • Formats: LP, CD, cassette, digital download
 4378
Bloom
  • Released: May 15, 2012
  • Label: Sub Pop
  • Formats: LP, CD, cassette, digital download
 715
Depression Cherry
  • Released: August 28, 2015
  • Label: Sub Pop
  • Formats: LP, CD, cassette, digital download
 817
Thank Your Lucky Stars
  • Released: October 16, 2015
  • Label: Sub Pop
  • Formats: LP, CD, cassette, digital download
 39145
7
  • Released: 11 May 2018
  • Label: Sub Pop
  • Formats: LP, CD, cassette, digital download
 2016

Compilation albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
US
[54]		 UK
[55]
B-Sides and Rarities
  • Released: June 30, 2017
  • Label: Sub Pop
  • Formats: LP, CD, cassette, digital download
 137—

Extended plays

Title Details Peak chart positions
US
[54]		 UK
[55]
iTunes Session
  • Released: August 24, 2010
  • Label: Sub Pop
  • Formats: Digital download
 ——

Singles

Title Year Album
"Master of None"[56] 2007 Beach House
"Used to Be" 2008 Teen Dream
"Norway" 2010
"Zebra"
"Lover of Mine"[57]
"10 Mile Stereo"[58]
"Myth" 2012 Bloom
"Lazuli"[59]
"Wild"[60]
"Other People"[61]
"Sparks"[62] 2015 Depression Cherry
"PPP"[63]
"Beyond Love"[63]
"Space Song"[64]
"Majorette"[65] 2016 Thank Your Lucky Stars
"Chariot"[66] 2017 B-Sides and Rarities
"Lemon Glow"[67] 2018 7
"Dive"[68]
"Dark Spring"[69]
"Black Car"[70]

References

  1. ↑ Diehl, Matt. "Hot Band: Beach House". Spin.com. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  2. ↑ Carew, Anthony. "Interview: Alex Scally of Beach House". About.com. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  3. ↑ Anthony Carew (2012). "Beach House - Artist Profile". About.com. About.com. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2006". Pitchfork. December 19, 2006. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2008". Pitchfork. December 19, 2008. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Friday Fun:: Yellow Bird Project & Beach House". Herohill. Herohill. October 8, 2010. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Music Feature: Beach House". Totally Dublin. January 4, 2010. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  8. ↑ Phillips, Amy. "Beach House – announce new album". Pitchfork.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Beach House's Norway – Free Download". Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  10. ↑ Beach House Announce New Album, October 20, 2009. Accessed January 25, 2010.
  11. ↑ Busch, Caitlin (2017-04-28). "Heath Ledger Would Hate Watching 'I Am Heath Ledger'". Huffington Post.
  12. ↑ LISI, BRIAN (2016-04-04). "Heath Ledger's sister says it took blessing from Michelle Williams to get new documentary made". NEW YORK DAILY NEWS.
  13. ↑ Amato, Matt (2010). "Beach House: Real Love". BEACH HOUSE: REAL LOVE. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  14. ↑ "Jay Z & Beyonce @ Coachella watching Beach House perform". YouTube. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2010". Pitchfork. December 16, 2010. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
  16. ↑ Carew, Anthony. "Interview: Victoria Legrand of Beach House (page 2)". About.com. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  17. ↑ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (March 23, 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-2074-6.
  18. ↑ Battan, Carrie (April 13, 2012). "Listen: Beach House: "Lazuli"". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  19. ↑ "World Premiere! The FADER #80 Featuring Beach House and 2 Chainz". Thefader.com. June 14, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  20. ↑ Bort, Ryan. "Watch Beach House's Video for "Lazuli" :: Music :: News :: Paste". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  21. ↑ Weiss, Dan (March 7, 2013). "Watch Beach House's Fantastical Ray Wise-Starring 'Wishes' Video". Spin.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Watch the Beach House Short Film "Forever Still"". Pitchfork Media. February 4, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Video: Beach House - Forever Still short film". Gorilla vs Bear. February 4, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  24. ↑ S., Sam (February 8, 2013). "Beach House Forever Still". Sub Pop. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Beach House to release new album 'Depression Cherry'". Never Enough Notes. Never Enough Notes. May 27, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Beach House Announce New Album Depression Cherry and World Tour". Pitchfork. Pitchfork. May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  27. ↑ Best LPs of 2015 – Top 20 “Still in Rock”
  28. ↑ "We are releasing our 6th full length LP on October 16th!!! It's called Thank Your Lucky Stars. More info soon..." Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  29. 1 2 3 "Beach House Share New Song, 'Helicopter Dream (I'm Awake)'". SPIN. Spin. September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  30. 1 2 "Wayne Coyne pranks the Internet with fake Beach House song". Consequence of Sound. Consequence of Sound. September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Beach House fans pranked with fake song". Fact. Fact. September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Hear Beach House Debut Unreleased Track Helicopter Dream on Wayne Coyne's New Podcast". Stereogum. Stereogum. September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Look at How Easy It Is to Fool a Blogger". Gawker. Gawker. September 28, 2015. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  34. ↑ @BeaccchHoussse (September 28, 2015). "To whoever made that fake podcast interview, we like your helicopter dream song" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  35. ↑ "The Best Trolls of 2015". Noisey. 2015-12-07. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  36. ↑ "Beach House Announce Tour, New Rarities Compilation - Pitchfork".
  37. ↑ "Beach House Detail New B-Sides and Rarities Album, Share New Track "Chariot": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  38. ↑ "Beach House Ready New Album, Share New Song "Lemon Glow": Listen | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  39. ↑ "Beach House: 7 on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  40. ↑ Wilson, Mackenzie. "Beach House – Review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  41. ↑ Tony, Caro and John: The Snowdon Song Archived May 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine., November 5, 2010. Accessed July 2, 2012.
  42. ↑ Gardner, Jeff (July 26, 2018). "Capturing the Ether". Tucson Weekly. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  43. ↑ Carew, Anthony. "Interview: Victoria Legrand of Beach House (page 1)". About.com. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  44. ↑ SXSW. "Beach House". "Used to Be". Youtube. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  45. ↑ Kristian Yeomans (June 26, 2010). "Beach House battle through Glastonbury technical difficulties due to 'too much MDMA'". NME. IPC Media Entertainment Network. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  46. ↑ "ATP Curated by Animal Collective". All Tomorrow's Parties. ATPFestivals. May 20, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  47. ↑ "I'll Be Your Mirror London Curated by Portishead and ATP". All Tomorrow's Parties. ATPFestivals. 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  48. ↑ "Beach House". BBC — Music. BBC. 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  49. ↑ "Coachella". Coachella.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  50. ↑ "2016 Lineup". Pickathon.com. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  51. ↑ "Pitchfork Music Festival Chicago 2016". Pitchfork Music Festival Chicago. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  52. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). Eauxclaires.com. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  53. ↑ Nicole L. Browner (September 9, 2010). "Papercuts/Beach House drummer releases 'Lover of Mine' remix + new 7". The Bay Bridged. The Bay Bridged. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  54. 1 2 3 "Beach House". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  55. 1 2 3
    • "Beach House". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
    • Thank Your Lucky Stars: Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart: CLUK Update 24.10.2015 (wk43)". obbel.de. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  56. ↑ Master of None (CD liner notes). Beach House. Bella Union. 2007. BELLACD152P.
  57. ↑ Lover of Mine (CD liner notes). Beach House. Bella Union. 2010. BELLACD251P.
  58. ↑ 10 Mile Stereo (CD liner notes). Beach House. Bella Union. 2010. BELLACD264P.
  59. ↑ "Record Store Day: Beach House – Lazuli/Equal Mind 7"". Bella Union. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  60. ↑ Wild (CD liner notes). Beach House. Bella Union. 2012. BELLACD368P.
  61. ↑ Wild (CD liner notes). Beach House. Sub Pop. 2012. PROCD191.
  62. ↑ "Beach House release new single 'Sparks'". Fact. July 1, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  63. 1 2 "Hear two new Beach House singles, 'PPP' and 'Beyond Love,' picked just for you". The Verge. August 10, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  64. ↑ Space Song (CD liner notes). Beach House. Sub Pop. 2015. PROCD233.
  65. ↑ Majorette (CD liner notes). Beach House. Bella Union. 2016.
  66. ↑ "Beach House Detail their Forthcoming Album". V. May 17, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  67. ↑ "Lemon Glow - Single by Beach House on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  68. ↑ ""Dive by Beach House Review". Pitchfork. March 7, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  69. ↑ "Beach House – "Dark Spring"". Spin. April 3, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  70. ↑ "Beach House share new single "Black Car"". The Fader. May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
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